Author: hoeniely (Page 10 of 14)

Chapter 55 – Practice kissing first

Where else can An Xumo eat, it’s all good if he doesn’t choke.

While he was trying to maintain his calm expression, Zhou Jinchen continued, “The newly revised script is to let Bai Qingchi take the initiative to kiss. Have you thought about his state?”

After starting to talk about business, An Xumo’s mood slowly settled down. He has been doing character sketches of Bai Qingchi since long ago, even if Bai Qingchi’s experience has changed. An Xumo can also infer Bai Qingchi’s thoughts from following Mr. Tao’s pen and ink.

An Xumo said, “Before Bai has been misunderstood and hurt for many years, it was overwhelming. Mr. Tao said he had never been in love so Ling is his first love. This kiss is also his first initiative.”

Trying to peel off his feelings for his brother, An Xumo tried to analyze objectively and comprehensively. “Bai must have a lot of worries before he kissed him…… even he originally never thought so, that is, the atmosphere is just right, he couldn’t help it.”

The warm breeze in the room was very comfortable. Two people sat face to face discussing the upcoming scene across a table of hot food. After the psychological state of the two characters was completely analyzed, An Xumo finally breathes a sigh of relief. He felt as if he had finished a final three-question, and the complex information is finally no longer surrounded by fog but became a well-organized, logical, and orderly emotional development. Every move and expression was supported by good reasoning, allowing him to better identify what he was trying to show.

Of course, these discussions only stop at the mannerisms and emotions before and after the kiss — as for the part during the kiss, Zhou Jinchen skipped over it without mentioning it and An Xumo really didn’t dare to ask.

After they finished talking, An Xumo also ate almost all of the oden. He was hesitating over the two snow-white meat buns when he heard Zhou Jinchen say, “If you can’t eat it, don’t force yourself.”

An Xumo looked up and saw that the man was looking at him. Before he could say anything, the other party asked, “Are you full?”

An Xumo nodded honestly.

Zhou Jinchen motioned in the direction of the bathroom, “Go and take a bath.”

As he carried his clothes to the bathroom, An Xumo quietly glanced at the man inside the room with his back on him. The other party is calling his assistant and asking someone to come and take away the rest of the food.

This feeling is too strange, An Xumo thought silently. More wonderful than a dream, yet so real.

After taking a shower, An Xumo didn’t have the heart to wear a bathrobe directly, he changed into a simple cotton t-shirt with loose pants before walking out of the bathroom.

The table has been restored to its previous neatness and the dutiful ventilation system of the room has dispersed all the smell. The owner of the room was sitting at the table looking at his laptop and the position was just blocking the way to the inner sofa. An Xumo hesitated and sat on the left side of the king-size bed.

Yes, the crew booked double rooms for most of the actors but main actors like Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui, as well as Ma Lao and the others, were booked in single rooms.

Although the conditions of the single room are also very good, it’s impossible to have two beds in the room.

Although the bed in the single room is nearly two meters wide, being invaded in their private space makes people very easy to feel resentful so An Xumo asked before he came whether he should sleep on the sofa – then he automatically silenced himself in his brother’s sight.

They came to sleep in the same room in order to cultivate the necessary feelings for filming, coupled with the fact that they are of the same gender and have a former brotherly relationship……so Zhou Jinchen did not agree to his suggestion to sleep on the sofa.

An Xumo thought so and his heart also did not give birth to a bitter smile.

It’s obvious that he was the one who wants too much, but why is this case now……

He let out a low sigh.

People with strange thoughts will have a guilty conscience.

Before coming out of the bathroom, An Xumo had already blow-dried his hair. He didn’t dare to come out with wet hair and make a mess on the floor. As a result, An Xumo found out that he seems to have made a mistake. The room was too quiet that he didn’t even get a chance to wipe his hair to find something to do.

It was fine when they were eating and discussing their roles and there was not much difference from how they usually get along. Now that the room was quiet, leaving only the occasional sound of the keyboard, An Xumo became uncontrollably nervous. 

—— He and his brother are in the same room and will be sleeping in the same bed later.

The mere thought made An Xumo want to bury his face in the blanket.

In order to control his thoughts, An Xumo had to find something to do. But now that he’s sitting on the bed and the new script hasn’t been delivered, there are very little things he can do.

When he came out of the bathroom, An Xumo inadvertently glanced at the laptop’s screen. He originally thought that the other party was watching something related to the movie but unexpectedly, the screen was showing complicated zigzag lines and colorful reports.

Zhou Jinchen was busy with his own business so An Xumo had to find something to do for himself. He reached out and pulled the two pillows stacked together on the bed, placing them on each side, and then quietly moved the pillow on the left side a little outward.

Moved a little bit more.

It was not until An Xumo almost hung half of the pillow on the left and solved the problem of ‘how to keep half of the pillow hanging on the side without falling’ by the bedside. He was concentrating then he suddenly paused.

It seems that he hasn’t heard the sound of the keyboard for some time.

An Xumo subconsciously turned back and instantly crashed into the man’s bottomless dark eyes.

Zhou Jinchen looked at the person for a while until An Xumo felt like he was going to be cooked¹heat up again, the man said, “The TV remote control is in the left drawer.”

An Xumo didn’t dare say anything and hurriedly looked down to find the remote control.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed and had to bend over when searching the drawer. By the time he found the remote control, Zhou Jinchen had already looked away. An Xumo turned on the TV and heard the other party say, “If you have other questions, you can ask them now.”

The black screen popped up with a selection of program categories and An Xumo’s hand shook for a moment before he managed to steadily hold the remote control. After finishing his words, the man turned his eyes back to the screen.

The characters and plot have been thoroughly analyzed earlier, and An Xumo couldn’t find out what questions he had for a while. The only thing they didn’t discuss was the process of the kissing scene, and on this issue, An Xumo found it a little difficult to open his mouth.

After thinking hard for a while, he finally found a question he could open up.

“Brother……”

Zhou Jinchen looked up at him from the laptop.

“En?”

“When you were filming kissing scenes before, for the preparation stage……what would you do with someone?”

“……”

The room was quiet once again.

An Xumo swallowed carefully, he vaguely perceived that the atmosphere seemed a little strange but he couldn’t figure out where it had gone wrong.

The question just now……is not quite right to ask?

After a while, An Xumo who couldn’t help but stiffen up heard the man’s voice.

“No preparation.”

“Ah……?” An Xumo looked over blankly.

Zhou Jinchen’s gaze had already returned to the laptop, while looking at the screen he said, “This is the first time I cultivate feelings with the kissing scene as the subject.”

An Xumo felt that his mind turned upside down, “But didn’t Mr. Tao say that before filming a scene, they usually let the two actors together……” 

Otherwise……why would he come to his brother’s room to sleep?

Could it be that brother used a stand-in for the kissing scene before? An Xumo thought wildly. He had also heard various rumors about the popularity of stand-ins in the industry before. However, 《Different Roads》 did not have any dangerous scenes so far. In addition to Ma Lao’s requirements, An Xumo had never seen a real stand-in scene.

Zhou Jinchen did not notice An Xumo’s expression. He lightly tapped the keyboard twice, the action and the voice did not interfere with each other, “I have filmed three kissing scenes, two are other shots covered by a finger, and one real shot is a borrowed position.”

An Xumo foolishly repeated, “Borrowed position?”

“The camera was shot from the side, the other side of the hand reached over and kiss the back of your own hand.”

An Xumo clenched the remote control in his hand and for a moment, he didn’t know whether to be relieved or lost.

So is that why my brother has never directly discussed the process of kissing scene with him? Because it was already known in advance, as long as you flash past the camera, there was no need to go to such great lengths to think about it in advance……

It took a while before he found his voice.

Regardless…….always have to ask the question.

“Then this time,” An Xumo said hesitantly, “do you want to use the other shot or borrowed position shot……?”

Zhou Jinchen finally moved his eyes away from the screen this time.

He looked at An Xumo and frowned slightly.

“Why do you think so?”

An Xumo stammered, “You just said that, with your own hands……”

Zhou Jinchen said, “That’s a TV series, it’s hard for movies to use this way.”

An Xumo’s brain buzzed and exploded.

“Moreover, Ma Lao would not agree to borrow position. He pays close attention to the quality of the camera. From the very beginning, the kissing scene was set as the actual shot.” Zhou Jinchen said, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have proposed to replace Lin Rui.”

An Xumo really felt the taste of bungee jumping back and forth in a short period of time.

And the man not far away looked at him again and asked: “Do you have other ideas?”

An Xumo hurriedly shook his head, “No, no……”

Zhou Jinchen said, “If it’s about the image of an artist, you don’t have to worry. Zimai and I have mentioned it to me that your team has no intention of giving you an extreme image, and doing kissing scenes will not affect your future.”

In such matters, the situation is the same for both male and female artists. The flawless “no kissing scenes” good boy image may be completed in a short period of time but it is also followed by a high-level of constraint and restrictions. Once the artist is a little careless with their words and actions, the fans that were initially attracted by their persona will be taken off in large numbers or even turned black.

Even if the artist can use resources to pile up a new persona, slapping faces is by no means a fun thing to do.

Zhou Jinchen has considered such a long-term, and An Xumo found it difficult to argue. He never thought of such a complicated reason, the only worry was that his brother would detect his feelings while filming……

But the only truth can’t be laid out on the surface.

“No, brother, I’m not worried about that……”

An Xumo said stiffly, “I’m worried because……don’t have……on, no kissing experience before……”

Being watched by the other party and telling the truth, An Xumo can’t feel his face burning.

“So I’m afraid that when I take the initiative to kiss, I may not do well……”

He had almost given up on himself.

There was a frightening silence in the air. An Xumo can only hear his own ‘thumping’ heartbeat. He waited for the other party to be dissatisfied, laugh, blame, or unresponsiveness, and envisioned a thousand worst-case scenarios.

However, after the silence, An Xumo heard a soft “click”.

The slender fingers closed the dark gray laptop. Zhou Jinchen looked at An Xumo, his voice was still consistent indifferent and magnetic.

“Instead of worrying about this,” he said, “you might as well practice in advance.”

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The author has something to say:

Kiss to find out.

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Editor: who said the room is just for cultivating feelings???

Jie Jie: *gasps* a wild editor suddenly appeared! Hahaha~

Again, thank you for the ko-fis impatientlywaiting! ♡

Chapter 54 – A night of eating and talking

Thank you so much for the ko-fis impatientlywaiting! ♡♡♡

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For the indoor scene filmed at night, An Xumo was unable to note down the entire scene.

He spent the whole night doing psychological construction but when the clapperboard hit, the crew finished work and prepared to return to the hotel. Watching Zhou Jinchen coming towards him after bidding farewell to other actors, An Xumo still inevitably turned into a state of blankness.

If it hadn’t been for the past experience these days weren’t too real and if not for the knowledge that his boldest wishful thinking would never happen, An Xumo would have certainly doubted more than once whether these days of what happened was true.

And now getting an important supporting role in a film directed by Ma Lao is real, the stumbling but smooth start of the actor’s road is real, and the fact that he can see his brother every day……the person who walks towards him now is also real.

It’s so real that you can reach out your hand and touch it.

The evening shot was an indoor scene but he didn’t go to the location to take materials. Therefore, the distance between here and the hotel is also very close. After work, everyone was used to walking back together.

Today is no exception.

From Zhou Jinchen walking over to the two people walking side by side at the back of the crew, during this time, every second is firmly imprinted in An Xumo’s mind. He used to have a very good memory, he would never forget what he wanted to write down but this time is not the same. For the first time, he has that “it turns out that the memory can be so clear” feeling.

Even the faint smell of dust in the surrounding air, the cool temperature outside at night, the slightly uneven ground at the foot, and the sweaty moisture in the heart of the palm, are all remembered little by little.

Although the two people are walking side by side, they didn’t talk much. Zhou Jinchen is a person who doesn’t like to talk much and An Xumo has been nervous. It wasn’t until Zhou Jinchen spoke to a few people in front of him that the two men turned to another road alone. An Xumo realized in hindsight……they seemed to have begun to be alone in advance.

He was a little uncertain, “Brother Jinchen, where are we going?”

In the night, the light moonlight sprinkled down and gently dr4p3d on people’s shoulders. Zhou Jinchen looked sideways at him and the original three-dimensional outline of his face showed a deeper shadow in the dim light.

His voice was still faint but it was overshadowed by the night with a richer layer of low mellow.

“Buy food,” Zhou Jinchen said, “for you.”

An Xumo stared blankly, not yet reacting.

Until he heard another sentence——

“Sleep in my room tonight.”

……

The pleasant sound of music rang out with the glass door that opened automatically, and the bright convenience store was filled with the aroma of hot oden soup. An Xumo followed the man with his arms and feet, watching the other party from the shelves took an instant porridge, a box of fresh milk, a bag of cheesecake sandwich, a large portion of tonkatsu ramen, and asked the clerk to help him with seven or eight sticks of oden.

When the clerk asked, “Are these for takeouts, sir?”, Zhou Jinchen paused for a moment and asked the person to take two snow-white, steaming meat buns from the food warming showcase.

The clerk deftly used the cardboard tray to hold the heated tonkantsu ramen and fresh milk, handing it to the waiting Zhou Jinchen. An Xumo, who had been stunned for a long time, reacted and scrambled to hold the oden sticks and the bag filled with food.

The convenience store is located at the entrance of the hotel where there are various drama groups resident filming all year round, and the clerks had long been well-informed.

But even An Xumo can tell with his barren experience that watching Zhou Jinchen buy so much food, the clerk’s curiosity and surprise have already leaked out from their feigned calm expression.

…… Although the misunderstood Zhou Jinchen has never reacted, the-culprit-who-caused-all-this-An still feels guilty.

Along with the elevator back to the hotel floor when passing by An Xumo’s room, the man in front of him has no intention of staying at all. An Xumo holding the oden sticks also followed the person all the way back to another room.

As a result, when Zhou Jinchen swiped open the door and inserted the room card, An Xumo discovered that there was a familiar suitcase placed not far from the door.

Zhou Jinchen swept a glance at the surprised An Xumo, placing down the things in his hand and said, “Your assistant took it in advance.”

An Xumo also followed and put the tray filled with the oden in his hand on the table. “Thank you……brother.”

Zhou Jinchen didn’t say anything to his thanks but said, “The assistant said there was no place for snacks in the room, and there was no hot food after half past nine in the hotel. The convenience store will make do with what is available first. I’ll get you another midnight snack tomorrow night.”

An Xumo felt that he couldn’t even say thank you.

“It’s t-too much trouble brother.” His ears burned up again. “In fact, I can just eat a little tonight……”

Zhou Jinchen heard the words but turned his eyes over and fell on An Xumo.

He frowned, “You only ate lunch boxed meals for two meals during the day. How can you have enough at night without a midnight snack?”

“I……”

An Xumo really did not expect that his situation during the day was noticed by his brother.

The aroma of the squid balls slowly spread out in the room, the tonkatsu ramen that was opened a little in the corner when heated also tempted people to eat with the golden soup, and the soft snow-white meat buns stacked on the table were obediently waiting to be eaten.

But An Xumo felt that he was already full.

He didn’t dare explain the reason why he wasn’t hungry —— he could never say to his brother, “I’m not hungry when I see you”. It was too strange, so strange that An Xumo felt that he would never say it for the rest of his life.

So in the end, he just whispered his thanks, sat down at the table in the sight of Zhou Jinchen, and tore the seal of the tonkatsu ramen a little bigger.

Zhou Jinchen got up and went to the bathroom, leaving An Xumo alone in the room with a table of midnight snacks. He quietly bit the tasty noodles and ate them, then suddenly his vision blurred.

It may be the heat of the ramen is a little too hot, An Xumo thought randomly. He dared to sniff out quietly when the sound of water came from the bathroom.

Brother…….

An Xumo has lived for seventeen years, he has experienced too many bad things. The pain of living is stronger than happiness, only his brother has always been An Xumo’s sun.

No one would expect the sun to shine only on them, and no one would want to take the initiative to get close to the sun, An Xumo has always thought so. He just needed to see his brother, take one more look, and then continue to live hard.

Now, he is sitting in his brother’s room, eating what the other party bought, and in less than thirty hours, if there is no accident, he will have to kiss his brother.

The world deviated from its original trajectory, the sun dissolves the centrifugal force, and little by little he moves closer in the direction of An Xumo, and the scorching light shone on all the frozen places.

How do you describe this feeling?

All the previous hunger, empty stomach, and painful tongue are not worth mentioning.

When Zhou Jinchen came out of the bathroom, An Xumo had just finished half of his ramen, and he still had a half piece of squid ball in his mouth. The fresh gravy left a satisfying aroma on his lips and teeth.

Zhou Jinchen glanced at the table. The water stains on his body had almost been wiped away but his voice still carried moisture.

“Your appetite has become smaller lately?”

An Xumo hesitated for a moment but still nodded his head.

“Adjust slowly, there is no hurry.”

An Xumo never knew that Zhou Jinchen had really been there when he was in a coma so he didn’t quite understand the meaning of his sentence. But soon, Zhou Jinchen changed the conversation. He looked down at An Xumo and said, “You keep eating, and let’s talk about the kissing scene.”

Chapter 53 [Title at the end of chapter]

Thank you so much for the ko-fis impatientlywaiting! ♡♡♡

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Zhou Jinchen suggested that he wanted to change the actor for the kissing scene because he was worried that An Xumo would be overpowered by Lin Rui’s aura which was his personal consideration.

Lin Rui proposed to change the actor of the kissing scene. The reason given is that the kissing scene of two people will make the film better and have more gimmicks in publicity which was his consideration for the film.

Zhou Jinchen’s consideration is difficult to put on the surface so to say, but Lin Rui’s consideration can.

An Xumo listened to the explanation of the situation and couldn’t help but slightly stiffen.

Although he had been restless for a long time because of the kissing scene, but from the bottom of his heart, An Xumo is also really……more inclined to Zhou Jinchen’s proposal.

People always have selfishness.

However, An Xumo wasn’t sure when he was worried about the final result. On the bright side, it seemed that Lin Rui’s proposal was more reasonable. But in fact, for the crew of 《Different Roads》, Lin Rui is just an actor, but Zhou Jinchen was not revealed as one of the main investors.

Therefore, from the start, it was impossible to pass a proposal that was at odds with Zhou Jinchen’s proposal.

An Xumo didn’t know the other identity of Zhou Jinchen and neither did Lin Rui. So although Lin Rui’s proposal has long been crossed in advance, the final result will still be decided by Ma Lao and Mr. Tao.

It didn’t take long for An Xumo to be anxious, Mr. Tao announced the answer ——

The kissing scene was set between Ling Sihang and Bai Qingchi.

The previous plot setting was to have Bai Qingchi as the trigger for the pretend breakup between the two leads with Ye Qisheng kissing him and Ling Sihang leaving for another country. However, in Mr. Tao’s words, considering that Ling Sihang crashed into the heartbreaking scene after the two kissed, the spread was too small and finally decided to do something big.

In the plot setting, Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng did not like Bai Qingchi. Ling Sihang is secretly in love with his best friend and Ye Qisheng is heterosexual. Their common pursuit of Bai Qingchi is to give a signal to the people around them who knew they are close friends —— these two friends gave birth to grudges and drew swords against each other for the sake of their love.

After modifying the object of the kissing scene, the plot scene is slightly changed.

“Bai Qingchi came to Ling and Ye’s school to participate in the cultural festival exchange activities. He came to the classroom to find Ling Sihang, and the two kissed there. When Ye Qisheng heard that Bai Qingchi came to the classroom, he brought a group of his friends to look for him, saying that he wanted to show his friends the person he liked. However, the group happened to run into the scene of Ling and Bai kissing. Ye Qisheng pretended to be furious and scuffled with Ling Sihang. In this way, they have publicly torn apart in front of their classmates.”

Mr. Tao who served as the scriptwriter is a courteous 40-year-old man who always keeps his pen in his chest pocket all year round. The tone of his speech was also gentle which makes people comfortable.

However, what he said was not equally comforting to the three actors present.

“After the students witness the separation, Ling Sihang and Bai Qingchi’s affair was brought up to Ling’s parents, who didn’t want their son to be with someone of the same sex from a dance school. Since they intended to leave the country, they simply took their son with them directly. In this way, Ling and Ye’s plan was successfully implemented and the police never suspected the two of them for ten years.”

While Mr. Tao was talking, Ma Lao had not spoken, but a few people present could guess that this should be the result of a joint discussion between the two.

In terms of age and seniority, An Xumo is the youngest one so he did not take the initiative to express his opinion.

Lin Rui, who had a proposal at the beginning, shrugged his shoulders and didn’t continue to make any objection, Ma Lao and Mr. Tao have well thought out the plot, and they also know that no matter how many words he says, it will not be useful.

Moreover from the start, Lin Rui didn’t propose it with a serious attitude. It was only after Zhou Jinchen proposed the change that he followed the joke and also mentioned it.

His thoughts on Zhou Jinchen are here, not only Zhou Jinchen himself understood, but even everybody in the cast noticed the clue. If it was originally like that, Lin Rui could have used his acting skills to pressure this newcomer who has attracted much attention from Zhou Jinchen. But now that Zhou Jinchen had offered to kiss with An Xumo, Lin Rui will also feel uncomfortable.

After having debuted for many years, Lin Rui has been a cold-eyed spectator to the chaos in the circle. There are countless wild butterflies but Zhou Jinchen was the first person who really made his heart flutter. Lin Rui, who has never lacked confidence in his charm and ability, has been determined to win him from the start. Even if he was directly rejected by Zhou Jinchen for the first time, he never thought of giving up.

No matter how strong Zhou Jinchen’s momentum is, for Lin Rui, who is in love and in the market, appears to be an inexperienced young junior. Lin Rui felt that he doesn’t lack the means, strength, and sincerity. He thinks that there is no reason why he won’t be able to take down Zhou Jinchen. In his actions, he has indeed never given up.

However, when this new actor who is inferior to himself in everything except for age appeared, things changed unknowingly.

To be fair, Lin Rui’s impression of An Xumo would have been good if it weren’t for the person he liked has a preference for this newcomer. Although An Xumo won roles and resources that others could not think of at a young age, it was inevitable to arouse jealousy. But Lin Rui also made his debut as a popular child actor at that time, and he naturally will not be jealous of An Xumo’s resources. On the contrary, Lin Rui has always been able to give a helping hand to the juniors who are hard-working and sincere, and he will not step on others.

Otherwise, Lin Rui’s reputation and popularity in the circle will not be so good.

The problem is that this newcomer has now a faint tendency to becoming Lin Rui’s love rival. So now, naturally, he can no longer be generous enough to give up his desired goal.

Lin Rui was calm on the surface, but in his heart, he went to re-organize his planned actions again.

He has always advocated the principle of “fighting for what you want”, not only in the acting profession but also on the road to love is also the same.

On this side, An Xumo and Lin Rui did not raise objections, but on one side, Zhou Jinchen took the initiative to speak to Mr. Tao.

Naturally, what he said would not be an objection but what An Xumo did not expect was that the other party was actually asking a question about Bai Qingchi.

“Ling and Ye are acting, what about Bai Qingchi’s attitude?”

Mr. Tao looked at him and asked, “Are you asking about Bai Qingchi’s feelings?”

Zhou Jinchen nodded.

An Xumo also pricked up his ears.

Mr. Tao said, “Bai Qingchi likes Ling Sihang, that’s why he took the initiative to find him in the classroom.”

An Xumo almost failed to sit still on his chair.

Fortunately, he didn’t make any noise to attract people’s attention so it was only Zhou Jinchen on the side who saw him in his peripheral vision and gave him a sideways glance.

An Xumo hurriedly sat upright.

Zhou Jinchen withdrew his gaze and said to Mr. Tao, “Isn’t Bai’s previous setting was unmoved?”

The person who spoke up this time was Ma Lao, whose voice was obviously older and more serious than Mr. Tao’s. “Xiao Chi¹Probably Mr. Tao’s name. discussed this matter with me at noon and I have considered before that if Bai Qingchi has been treated as a prop and is not really moved, in terms of the overall effect, it would appear to be disconnected from the whole as if it hadn’t been integrated into the plot.”

“If Bai fell in love with Ling, the tragedy of this character would be more obvious and he can step on the real thing, making the audience feel more realistic.”

An Xumo who has been commented on blinked blankly in the eyes of the public.

Zhou Jinchen took the lead in pulling back the attention of a few people. “Good. How did Bai and Ling’s feelings develop?”

Mr. Tao explained: “Didn’t Ling Sihang already saw Zhao Jiujiu harassed Bai Qingchi in the second half of the scene this afternoon? After the plot behind it was changed, Bai Qingchi encountered trouble again. As a result, Ling helped Bai to solve the problem, and the two get along in the process. Bai Qingchi’s heart was gradually moved.”

He added: “However, we didn’t leave too many scenes for this flashback ten years ago, so these plots won’t be shot directly. Only when Bai went to the classroom to find Ling in vain, we used the lines to bring them out a little. When the atmosphere between the two is enough, we can directly shoot the kissing scene.”

Zhou Jinchen nodded and expressed no objection.

An Xumo also followed and nodded confusedly.

The content of 《Different Roads》 is mainly about the dealings between Ling Sihang, Ye Qisheng, and the police after ten years. The proportion of the scenes before ten years was not large in the first place. Since the beginning of the film, the camera has shot pretty much in the early days. Basically, only the remaining altered scenes are left. Bai Qingchi’s scenes have not been shot yet.

Before the end of the meeting, Ma Lao said, “Get ready. If there is no accident, we will shoot the newly changed part the day after tomorrow. The script will be sent to you tomorrow and the lines should be memorized in advance.”

This is the most basic thing and the three naturally quickly agreed.

Ma Lao glanced at Zhou Jinchen then turned his gaze to An Xumo. What he said showed no signs at all, but it directly poked An Xumo’s heart. “The day after tomorrow, I want to film a kissing scene between you and Zhou Jinchen’s kissing scene, so get ready.”

An Xumo tried to control himself and finally succeeded in not letting himself stutter, but only a piece on the tips of his ears burned red.

“I understand, Ma Lao.”

Ma Lao said, “This kind of scene should usually be notified to the actors a few days in advance, but this time the script has been changed a lot, the time is a little tighter.”

An Xumo didn’t understand the meaning of his words and was still nodding foolishly.

Nevertheless, Zhou Jinchen took a deep look at him and took the initiative to take over Ma Lao’s words. “When should we start to prepare?”

Ma Lao thought for a moment and frowned, “Tomorrow’s scenes are all full, right?”

The most important part for tomorrow is Ye Qisheng’s scenes. He looked at Lin Rui and the latter nodded, “Yes, a total of four scenes.”

Ma Lao turned to Zhou Jinchen, “You also have a lot of shots during the day and you may not be able to leave. How about this, you start this evening and it’s also the same for tomorrow. I remember there’s no evening scene tomorrow. You two will find a quiet place to stay for one night and sleep in the same room once you come back. When you start filming the day after tomorrow, you must find your feelings.”

Zhou Jinchen did not have any special reaction and nodded directly, “Okay.”

However, An Xumo stood upright and froze.

“Sleep, sleep in the same room?!”

Was he hearing things??

Mr. Tao kindly explained, “The preparation before the kissing scene is usually to let two actors stay one afternoon in advance to cultivate feelings, so as not to be stiff and nervous or not have enough emotions. The time for changing the script is tight. You may not be able to have the time to spend alone during the day. It’s estimated that you can only work harder at night.”

Ma Lao looked at An Xumo: “What, you can’t sleep with others yet?”

“No, no.” An Xumo finally broke and stammered again when he answered. His cheeks were as hot as fire, his ears were buzzing, and he didn’t even have the courage to look up at Zhou Jinchen.

After a long time of effort, he barely smoothly said, “I understand.”

Only then did Ma Lao showed a look of satisfaction.

The meeting was dismissed on the spot, Ma Lao and Mr. Tao left first. Lin Rui wanted to wait for Zhou Jinchen but Ma Lao who had reached the door stopped and raised his voice, calling Lin Rui away as well.

The two people who were left behind are Zhou Jinchen and An Xumo.

An Xumo did not dare to look up at all. He even had an illusion —— anyone with eyes could see the color of his face was as red as dripping blood.

He plucked up his courage to say only one sentence.

“Jin, Brother Jinchen, I’ll be troubling you tonight……”

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The author has something to say:

Secretly asking Xiao Mo, are you happy being on the same bed~

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Jie Jie: I think the title is a bit of a spoiler.

Chapter 53: You have to share a room before filming

Chapter 52 – Who exactly is brother going to kiss

mochimùwú: Sorry for updating a bit late. Had some stuff to do.

Anyway!

Thank you so much for the ko-fis impatientlywaiting! (I love your name btw!)

Enjoy the following bonus chapters~

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Lu Pinghui only joined the group three days ago but this does not mean that he’s not clear about Zhou Jinchen’s status and background. It’s true that he relied on the resources of the golden backer to join the group, but after spending nearly half a year in the circle, Lu Pinghui also knew very well what Zhou Jinchen’s name represented.

After the head-on collision between two eyes, Lu Pinghui was so cold that he shivered. He subconsciously moved his gaze away and didn’t dare to continue looking directly at each other. When he came back to his senses and tried to adjust his expression to reconcile for it, he saw that Zhou Jinchen had already withdrawn his eyes and looked at An Xumo in the middle, together with the others.

Lu Pinghui squeezed his fingers tightly and couldn’t help but bite his lower lip.

The agent on the side was wiping the cold sweat from his face. “I don’t know what happened why he noticed us……it’s not hard to see, what is the relationship between Emperor Zhou and the newcomer? A’Hui, you have to be careful ah……”

“Okay, I understand.” Lu Pinghui’s nature is that he doesn’t like to listen to other people’s advice. He impatiently waved his hand and said to the agent, “Right, go and find out what’s the relationship between them. Speaking of the newcomer, Zhou Jinchen is still unhappy?”

The agent nodded in response, his expression still looks a bit flustered. Lu Pinghui couldn’t bear his cowering appearance. Obviously, he usually made a profit under his own banner, but when it comes to meeting someone, he went as far as to be a coward to this extent?

Thinking that he would be used in the future, Lu Pinghui could only force down his impatience. Moreover, if you really calculate it, you don’t necessarily have to be afraid of this Film Emperor Zhou.

No one around noticed this. Lu Pinghui snorted coldly and said, “Besides, even if Zhou Jinchen really heard it, so what? He’s only a film emperor and he signed a contract with Jin Dian. I don’t believe he can still be bigger than Brother Yin.”

After hearing this, the agent also felt that there was some truth to it. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and followed Lu Pinghui’s words, “Yes, yes, Mr. Yin is a top executive of Jin Dian. How can any artist compare to him?”

After being coaxed by his agent again, Lu Pinghui’s face finally looked better. He flicked off the non-existent dust on his cuffs and lifted his chin towards the crowd, “Go. Let’s go and see the newcomer’s duck walk.”

Lu Pinghui and his agent were in a gloating mood as they gathered around again. However, just as the two of them approached, they heard Ma Lao’s voice.

“Okay. That’s the state.”

Ma Lao’s tone was not only as strict and serious as usual but there’s also a faint satisfaction in his calmness. People who are used to seeing Ma Lao on the set know how rare this situation is —— even the two protagonists who have been through a hundred battles¹身经百战: lit. veteran of a hundred battles (idiom); fig. experienced; seasoned. have never been treated this way a few times in total.

After Ma Lao finished, he signaled to An Xumo, “Go again, and then we will officially start shooting.”

Not only was the stunned Lu Pinghui who was waiting to see someone embarrassed, but everyone else on the set were quite surprised. It took less than twenty minutes from the beginning of his attempt to achieve Ma Lao’s satisfaction.

This is much faster than expected.

The only person present who felt that this was expected was Ma Zechi, who was standing next to Ma Lao. After filming An Xumo’s scene in the morning, he had a long chat with the scriptwriter Mr. Tao at noon. Ma Lao was also there at that time. Although Ma Lao didn’t say much, but Ma Zechi had a faint intuition of something.

As expected, after the afternoon shooting, Ma Lao was not surprised by An Xumo’s outstanding performance. Ma Zechi also really understood why Ma Lao would look at a few actions before deciding An Xumo to act.

Speaking of which, the role of Bai Qingchi is actually very special. Unlike the two main characters, he doesn’t need extra three-dimensional layer, high-level requirements so Ma Lao is willing to choose from the newcomers. This role requires more physical appearance and temperament, An Xumo took advantage of this and he can almost be regarded as a natural actor.

The boy walking in the middle of the path has a straight back, a long neck, and an extremely beautiful demeanor. Even if a layman who doesn’t know his identity can see at a glance the difference in temperament between him and ordinary people.

The large screen of the cinema will magnify all the flaws, and any hint of the actor’s drooping back and slanted shoulders can be clearly felt by the audience. However, these minor problems are actually invisible before the camera so many newcomers will make such mistakes. They must be corrected over time and constantly reminded for a long time in order to be forced to change these minor problems that have lasted for more than ten to twenty years.

Getting rid of their bad habits is only the first step. What is more difficult is to imitate the character’s temperament and manners. Actors like Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui have to adjust themselves when acting as students, not to mention those actors who can’t adjust at all —— there are actors in the circle who are extremely popular but not well evaluated. They were uniformly evaluated as “acting like themselves in any role.”

Ma Zechi can clearly see that An Xumo is in fact also acting as himself but his own image is very consistent with the role so the first time he acted, he was directly recognized by Ma Lao.

The kid’s luck is very good. Although the filming has just started, Ma Zechi can almost foresee all kinds of comments after the movie is released. How many actors are waiting for roles and how many scripts are waiting for good actors, and An Xumo’s first performance encountered the most suitable role for him.

However, thinking about the way this child looked like when he was seriously watching the shoot with the crew, Ma Zechi felt that it was not just a matter of luck.

A great opportunity fell on his head and An Xumo grasped it with his own efforts.

Unsurprisingly, in the sight of numerous attentions, An Xumo successfully completed the last task. Ma Lao didn’t even say a few heavy words and the boy who was filming for the first time passed his examination.

Many high-definition cameras which were originally thought to have to wait for a while before starting up were turned on, and the staff began to prepare for their work. An Xumo who had been tense for a while finally let out a sigh of relief quietly. Before he could relax, he saw Qian Lingyuan who was about to shoot with him next, came over to him and said with a smile, “Xiao Mo is doing well. Ma Lao rarely releases people so quickly.”

An Xumo was still a little nervous. He smiled shyly and his thousand miles repulsive temperament in front of the camera was obviously diminished. “Thank you, Uncle Qian. I hope I won’t delay everyone later ba……I also ask Uncle Qian to take care of me.”

“Child, there is no need to be so polite.” Qian Lingyuan patted his shoulder. “Take it easy. You know Ma Lao’s temperament, re-shooting does not necessarily mean it’s unsatisfactory. He may just want better results, relax ah.”

An Xumo smiled gratefully, “I understand.”

As soon as he finished talking with Qian Lingyuan, An Xumo just looked back and saw Zhou Jinchen walking over.

“Brother…..Brother Jinchen.” An Xumo’s tension in the filming has not yet completely relaxed when he stammered again once he opened his mouth.

Zhou Jinchen glanced at him and his eyes were slightly heavy. He and Qian Lingyuan said the same thing. “Relax, don’t be nervous.”

An Xumo nodded hurriedly, “Okay.”

It seemed that Zhou Jinchen was just passing by and after speaking with An Xumo, he also intends to go to the other side where he’ll be on camera later.

But just when An Xumo thought that his brother was going to leave, he heard the other party say in a light tone, “That performance just now was very good.”

An Xumo was stunned for a moment. When he looked up, Zhou Jinchen had already turned and walked towards the other direction.

Leaving only one sentence for him.

“Keep it up.”

For An Xumo, this sentence almost has the same effect as Ma Lao’s “OK. Keep this state when we officially start filming.”

When the staff member came up to help him with a simple makeup, An Xumo’s tense shoulders finally relaxed a little.

His heart and stomach are warm.

With the smooth progress at the beginning, after the second half of the filming ended an hour earlier, the present staff did not show much surprise. Before considering An Xumo’s first time filming, the crew coordinated and set aside time for it but also worried that the time is not enough for Ma Lao to train people to increase the filming. They didn’t think that the process is so smooth. Coupled with the additional close-up shots, the whole scene finally came down and played only ten times on the board.

This number may sound like a lot, but apart from the trial shoots and incomplete make-up shots, the total time spent is not too long. In addition, Ma Lao has always been accustomed to striving for perfection. The key shots are basically more than a dozen times. Hitting the clapperboard ten times is a normal level.

In the second half, it was the first time that Bai Qingchi was harassed by Zhao Jiujiu. This was the beginning of Bai Qingchi’s nightmare. At the end of the shot, Ling Sihang who was inadvertently passing by saw Bai Qingchi. This is also the source of emotional entanglement between Ling Sihang, Ye Qisheng, and Bai Qingchi.

Although there are several times the emotional performance is not quite in place, but after Ma Lao’s corrections, An Xumo quickly adjusted. And everyone found that this newcomer with no acting experience has a powerful attribute —— a mistake that has been corrected once, he will never make the same mistake twice.

Actors in this industry, especially newcomers, are prone to lose sight of what they are doing when faced with a director’s instructions. They tend to pay attention to one point, forgetting the other. After a few more training sessions, the director will get irritated and the newcomer will easily mess up.

As for An Xumo, he can accurately remember what Ma Lao said every time. Although he lacked experience like a brand new sponge, everyone could see that he was rapidly absorbing a lot of water.

Therefore, even though it was the first time he acted, the total number of times An Xumo had NG-ed was not that many. After the filming was over, everyone’s impression of An Xumo also changed, such as popular idol, hard-working, and so on.

The afternoon filming ended a few hours ahead of schedule. After the crew wrapped up, there was still time before the evening shoot. An Xumo had just received dinner from the uncle who praised him a lot and ran into Liu Longfei who came to call him.

“Going to a meeting?” An Xumo was a bit confused, he hadn’t attended any meeting discussion with the crew. “Assistant director, do you know what it’s about?”

Liu Longfei said, “Listening to Mr. Tao’s meaning, it seems to be about revising the scene between you and the two protagonists which is the free time before the evening shot. So Ma Lao called the three of you over and said to listen together to their opinions.”

An Xumo thanked Liu Longfei. After handing the lunch box to Tang Tang, he went to the conference room where he had just pointed out. Although Liu Longfei had given him an explanation, the doubts in An Xumo’s heart were not completely dispelled. Ma Lao’s habit of revising scripts is not a secret in the industry. He sometimes even shoots two versions and then makes changes at the end. Due to this, he quarreled with a lot of scriptwriters when he was young.

However, this should be the first time that the actors have been asked to go to a meeting on script changes. After An Xumo entered the crew, in the past, it was Ma Lao and Mr. Tao who discussed directly plus the opinions of several assistant directors, and the actors directly take the new script.

It wasn’t until An Xumo rushed to the conference room that he finally understood why the actors were additionally called in this time——

The script to be revised is precisely the emotional scenes between Bai Qingchi and the two protagonists and now there is a disagreement in the most crucial kissing scene.

Zhou Jinchen told An Xumo before that he proposed to change the kissing scene between the two of them, but after arriving at the scene, An Xumo realized that Lin Rui had also made a proposal.

What he said was that he wanted to film a kissing scene between himself and Zhou Jinchen.

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The author has something to say:

Okay, let’s turn on An Xumo’s Su hanging mode, which startles us all the way and shakes the whole audience.

The kissing scene will be filmed soon, and the elder brother is about to face his illness. After the elder brother understand that he has an illness the emotional drama will be surging forward~

Chapter 51 – The Film Emperor’s eyes are locked on you

Jie Jie: Update schedule is back on its usual Wednesdays & Fridays. But there might be some days where I can only do it once a week. I’ll be a bit busy these days(or months) because of New Year, New Semester. I’m sorry (ಥ﹏ಥ)

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An Xumo was slightly stunned and felt that Lin Rui seemed to have something to say.

But the other party’s tone and expression were very natural and there seemed to be nothing unusual as if An Xumo thought too much about it.

Zhou Jinchen’s tone was also flat. “I was there in the second half of the two scenes in the afternoon.”

Lin Rui said “oh” and didn’t say anything else.

The two men who got wet had to change clothes. Not long after they left, the crew began to distribute the lunch boxes.

After entering the group, because he could see his brother every day, An Xumo’s appetite has been reduced a lot unknowingly. The various supplements that Tang Tang prepared for him are consumed more and more slowly. Although An Xumo can’t completely stop the snacks now, the situation is much better than when he first joined the group.

Because he has to film in the afternoon, An Xumo quickly ate his lunch. After he finished eating, he found his script, and the lines to be filmed in the afternoon had long been memorized. An Xumo was not looking at his own scene but the one in the morning between Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui in the hotel.

In contrast with the wonderful performance of the two, the lines on the short page of the script appear much thinner. An Xumo compared the script in his head in the morning shoot in detail twice. After carefully guessing the emotions of the two during the performance, he turned the page and went to see the scene he was going to shoot.

He tried to use the same method to stimulate the scene he was going to film in advance, but this operation is obviously somewhat difficult. When An Xumo had finished visualizing how he was going to act, the crew started working again.

An Xumo failed to watch this time. He had to change his costume and put on makeup, and wait for the second half to be filmed.

Except for the two main actors who have a larger time span, more image changes, and have a single dressing room, all the rest of the actors used a common dressing room. An Xumo’s morning makeup was done by a teacher from the ballet company, so this was the first time he came to the crew’s dressing room in addition to the still makeup photo.

Although the first half of the scene has already begun filming, the dressing room is still relatively busy. When An Xumo came to the dressing room after changing his costume, the makeup artist in charge of him didn’t seem to have come yet so he waited for a while.

It wasn’t long before a young girl hurriedly pushed in the door. An Xumo happened to be standing by the door, the girl didn’t look at the person and hurriedly said “excuse me”, walking past him.

An Xumo’s sharp eyes noticed that the girl quietly feebly raised her hand and wiped her eyes.

The girl ran to the makeup table and Sister Wang who was doing another actor’s makeup, saw her and wondered, “Xiao Ai, you didn’t participate in the makeup for the second half of the scene today?”

“No,” Xiao Ai’s voice was a bit flustered, “I’m in the shift today.”

Upon hearing this, Sister Wang stopped her hands. She was surprised and said, “Then why are you so late?”

“Lu Pinghui, Brother Lu said I didn’t put on enough makeup and asked me to bring things to him. I just came back.” Xiao An said more and more anxiously and vaguely with a nasal voice, “Sister Wang, has the actor for the seventh chair been here yet?”

Hearing Lu Pinghu’s name, Sister Wang couldn’t help but frown. When she saw that Xiao An was so anxious that she was about to cry, she hurriedly comforted her, “It’s okay, don’t worry. All the actors who need makeup should have arrived, you can look around the room.”

Xiao Ai wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and look around while whispering, “Brother Wu warned me before that the actor I was responsible for in the second half was a popular artist, and I ended up being late……”

Sister Wang saw that she was in a great hurry but there was no way to comfort her with further words. In front of the actors, makeup artists are originally a service industry. Typically, when they encounter bad-tempered and somewhat famous artists, they still have to be careful, and as a result, Xiao An is even late now.

Sister Wang can’t help thinking that if she met another artist like Lu Pinghui……

“I think I’ve found him!”

When Sister Wang returned to her senses, she saw Xiao Ai running towards the door.

An Xumo, who was standing by the door, saw the girl he had just seen running over. She stopped in front of him and carefully asked, “Excuse me, Mr. An. Are you waiting for makeup?”

“Yes.” An Xumo nodded to her and thought for a moment, “I seem to be the…….artist for makeup number seven.”

“Yes, yes. It’s me,” The girls hurriedly said. “I’m sorry, I’m late. I’m really sorry I caused you trouble.”

The girl said and unexpectedly gave him a ninety-degree bow. An Xumo was startled and immediately wanted to reach out to help but because he felt that it was not good to take the initiative to touch a girl, he had to say it. “It’s alright, it’s alright. I didn’t wait long.”

The girl straightened up and seemed a little surprised. She said hesitantly, “Please come over to this side.”

“Okay,” An Xumo responded. “By the way, it’s okay not to use honorifics, just call me Xiao An.”

The girl froze for a moment again.

When she was sure that An Xumo really had no intention to reproach her, she knocked against her companion and said, “Thank, thank you, I’m Xiao Ai.”

When the two walked to the makeup table, An Xumo bent down to sit on the chair and did not see the concerned look that Sister Wang gave to Xiao Ai behind him.

After getting ready, Xiao Ai soon began to help An Xumo apply his makeup. Her technique was quite skilled and her strength was well-controlled. It didn’t take long for the boy in the mirror to still have the familiar eyebrows but added a lot of cold and detached feeling.

An Xumo closed his eyes and waited for the brush to gently sweep over and he heard Xiao Ai whisper, “You……your skin has a good foundation.”

An Xumo smiled. “Thank you.”

With this good start, the two slowly began to talk. Xiao Ai’s technique was too proficient that she finished the whole makeup in less than twenty minutes. By the time the makeup was done, the tone of their conversation was much more relaxed.

After thanking Xiao Ai, An Xumo left the dressing room. Xiao Ai was relieved. She sat back in her chair feeling renewed after a great disaster.

Sister Wang who had also finished her work was drinking from a glass of water. When she saw Xiao Ai sitting on the chair and reminded her, “This time, he was good-tempered. Xiao Ai, you have to be careful next time.”

Xiao Ai nodded and said, “I understand. Thank you, Sister Wang.”

She let out a long sigh, “I haven’t encountered this kind of situation before when I did make up for dancers. I didn’t expect that……Brother Lu would be like this and I didn’t expect that there would be such a good artist as Mr. Xiao An.”

Sister Wang gave a “shh” and looked around warily. Xiao Ai hurriedly covered her mouth.

But after confirming that no one around was paying attention, Sister Wang whispered, “In this circle, there are many extreme people here.”

Xiao Ai nodded with a deep sense of empathy.

“But in the end, the ones that go far……” Sister Wang said in a low voice, “Definitely not someone like Lu Pinghui.”

–

When An Xumo arrived on the set, there was still part of the make-up shots in the first half of the scene. Before waiting for half an hour, Ma Lao nodded and the crew began to tidy up the set, and prepare to continue filming the second half.

An Xumo was called in advance, and Ma Lao told them about the scene.

“I’m going to film the scene of Zhao Jiujiu harassing Bai Qingchi.” Ma Lao stood in front of the two people. “I won’t talk about Lingyuan’s part, you grasp it yourself.”

“The key is you,” he turned to An Xumo, “your performance.”

Being named so directly, An Xumo hurried stood upright.

“As a male ballet dancer, Bai Qingchi has been misunderstood since childhood. No matter whether they are relatives, friends, or even his own biological parents did not understand his persistence.” Ma Lao said. “Have you read those news materials I showed you?”

An Xumo nodded. “Finished reading.”

Sister Liu gave him a stack of information before which was full of new cases of male ballet dancers being misunderstood, harassed, and even assaulted. It was in this real world and it was shocking.

“Good, then you have to understand the emotions of Bai Qingchi. He has been living in misunderstanding, and over time, he will no longer reveal his heart to others. Coupled with the temperament of dancing, the whole person’s performance is relatively cold and arrogant. You have to remember this word.” Ma Lao continued, “When Zhao Jiujiu appeared, Bai Qingchi was emotionally disgusted but his performance should not be excessive.”

These character analyses have been done by An Xumo himself before, but Ma Lao’s analysis was obviously more thorough, and he also analyzed in detail the several actions and expressions set in the script. He even gave An Xumo a few simple demonstrations.

Ma Lao is recognized for his eccentric temper, but no one has ever questioned his attitude in directing.

After talking about the scene, all the necessary scene props for filming were arranged but Ma Lao did not let the scene record hit the board directly but said to An Xumo, “You go to the middle first and take a few steps.”

An Xumo was a little confused but did not raise any objection. He quickly went to the designated location and walked forward with the prop handbag in his arms.

Before he took two steps, he heard Ma Lao shouting, “Keep your back straight, don’t shake your head, and pay attention to your demeanor and temperament!”

The staff at the side heard Ma Lao’s voice and looked at each other, their eyes full of sympathy for An Xumo.

This is Ma Lao’s habit. Before filming, the actors with important roles must maintain their most suitable demeanor. When Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui acted as middle school students, Ma Lao made them go in and out of the classroom for nearly thirty minutes in order to let them find the correct student posture. This is still good. According to the group legend, in the first few plays, there were secondary tunes to teach new actors. Ma Lao unexpectedly let people learn to walk for three days. In the end, the actor’s calves were swollen and Ma Lao still refused to lower his own standards a little.

This time, the artist is more inexperienced. Although the popularity is not low, with Ma Lao here, you will certainly be trained to take off a layer of skin.

There were not a small number of people at the scene. If An Xumo fails to meet the requirements in full view of the public, it will not only leave a bad impression on everyone but also delay the entire progress of the crew.

Many people in the crew have an excellent impression of An Xumo, and they all pay attention to the child’s performance on the set every day. Seeing that Ma Lao is going to use the strict way of tuning actors to him, several people can’t help but sweat for him.

But in the end, there will be no fewer gloating people who intend to watch the fun.

A tall, thin young man waiting on the sidelines with his arms crossed together smiled with a sneer, looking at the person in the field with eyes full of sarcasm. He snorted to the agent beside him, “Look at that person, shrinking his neck like a turtle, and he can’t even walk but he can still be called a popular idol ne. I think his fans are blind ba.”

After he finished his words, the agent who had always been in sync, rarely agreed.

On the contrary, the fat agent oozed a little sweat from his forehead. He pulled the hem of the slim young man’s dress slightly and said in a low voice, “A’Hui,¹阿(A): Used to indicate familiarity. keep your voice down……”

“What’s wrong, where’s my voice louder?” Lu Pinghui frowned discontentedly. “Besides, he’s just an embroidered pillow²Embroided pillow: refers to people/things that are glamorous on the outside but useless on the inside. with nothing but a face. I haven’t acted in any scene so what’s wrong with saying a few words about him?”

The agent’s look showed no signs of improvement and Lu Pinghui still continued to sneer. “When you look at him before, every day you know how to stand by and watch. You can’t wave him away like a fly for fear that others won’t recognize him. He’s in the film set every day to be familiar with others, but what else can’t be done backstage ah?”

Before Lu Pinghui finished his words, the agent suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled the man away.

Although the area around the set was not packed, there were a lot of people. The two people rashly walked out and were squeezed twice by the crowd on the way. Lu Pinghui was even more upset. Without waiting for his agent to stop, he shook off his arm and said, “What are you doing, hiding from the plague ah?”

The agent raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face while lowering his voice, “My little ancestor……can’t you see that someone next to you is looking at you ne!”

“What’s wrong with me, does anyone dare to touch me?” Lu Pinghui impatiently said. “What are you afraid of? Who is it ah?”

Without waiting for the agent to answer, Lu Pinghui turned back to look at where they were standing just now. Since he will also participate in the second half of the filming, Lu Pinghui’s place is not far from the scene spot, and there are other people around not far away.

He looked back, not waiting for the agent to confirm who that blind person was, but he suddenly bumped into an ice-cold, unwarm line of sight.

Lu Pinghui suddenly stiffened.

When he looked over, the other party also looked over in the direction he was going. The person’s gaze was so cold that Lu Pinghui, who was not even afraid of wearing a single coat on the catwalk in winter, directly shivered.

After all, it turned out to be Zhou Jinchen, one of the two film emperors.

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The author has something to say:

Comrade Lu Pinghui is a guide who will bring out the next section of the plot~

Chapter 50 – You care so much about Xiao An

Jie Jie: Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone would have a wonderful 2021. Wishing you all the best in life. Fighting! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

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The outstanding appearance made An Xumo stand out directly among all the people on stage, but on the other hand, for movies, a good shot can’t just be about the face.

Ma Zechi found that in addition to his own appearance, the young boy also had an excellent sense of camera. Obviously, his previous stage experience had helped him a lot as An Xumo knew how to present the most suitable angle in front of the camera. Coupled with his dancing ability comparable to professionals, An Xumo naturally attracted all the attention among ballet dancers with the same excellent conditions.

The most suitable aspect of developing actors was originally part of the director’s job, so when An Xumo began to spontaneously cooperate with the camera, Ma Zechi immediately noticed this. He had a vague sense of ominous——

Perhaps in this young man, whose acting experience is like a blank sheet of paper, there will be some surprises.

Because Ma Zechi never called to stop, the group dance, which was originally planned to be a trial performance, ended up dancing the entire piece. The cameras distributed in various positions recorded the whole scene and the shooting was not completely finished until all the actors gave the curtain call according to the stage etiquette.

The crowd on stage looked at Ma Zechi sitting in front of the screen. He waved his hand, “Dance again.”

The smooth process of filming was beyond imagination. There was no need to finish all the dances, only to add a few more shots of An Xumo in the middle. When the crew signaled for all the extras to leave the stage did An Xumo suddenly realized —— his first scene was shot without even NG and it passed straight through.

Although most of the reason is that the camera only needs to shoot the dance performance, but when Ma Zechi really nodded to show it passed, An Xumo’s heart which had been hanging for a long time was relaxed a lot.

Everything is difficult at the beginning.

The successful start gave An Xumo a lot of confidence and after the training scenes were shot, there was a scene in which he officially performed afterwards. The busy costumes and props staffs spent more than ten minutes setting up the stage backdrop and An Xumo who had changed into his costume also danced formal ballet once more under Ma Zechi’s signal.

This time, there were no other actors on the stage; it’s just An Xumo’s solo dance. Compared with a group performance, the difficulty factor for solo is obviously higher which is more convenient for shooting. In addition to the vertical shot from above which was repeated a few more times, the scene was smoothly completed.

Despite knowing that An Xumo had a background in dancing, the crew did not expect to finish all these scenes so soon. With more than half of the reserved time left, the crew stopped working one after another and prepared to go to another shooting site to see the progress.

Ma Zechi was still sitting there, staring at the screen. In the replay footage, An Xumo dressed in a gorgeous dance costume, dancing beautifully and moving gracefully. He wore a three-piece dance suit where the main body is black. His coat tightened against the waistline at the back, his white shirt with intricate lace folds, and the black and white boundary line brought better visual effect to the already slender legs.

There are many leg movements in ballet dance, and raising the leg is one of the most basic movements. The slim dance costume outlines An Xumo’s figure, and between each movement, the unique charm of that dance is perfectly displayed.

The performance is called 《The Dying Swan》 which is one of the very classic ballet pieces. The struggle between life and death is presented in the dancer’s movements, and the “fragile nobility” required for the role of Bai Qingchi was highlighted even more clearly.

[If anyone is curious about the dance, here’s the link: 《The Dying Swan》]

Ma Zechi watched An Xumo’s performance and suddenly stood up.

The assistant at the side was taken aback, “Director Ma, what’s wrong?”

“When I’m done tidying up, I have to go to the set to look for Mr. Tao.” Ma Zechi said without looking back and threw down a sentence, “Put the machine away, and be careful when you operate it!”

Once the scene at the theater was finished, An Xumo also followed back to the set which was still busy. Because they finished filming early, when they arrive at the set, it was not yet eleven o’clock. It happened that the two protagonists were filming a confrontation against each other. After An Xumo asked Ma Zechi if he had no other arrangements, he found his usual position and went to watch the shooting.

After watching for a while, An Xumo recognized the plot they were filming —— it was the plot when Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng went to a hotel to spend the night after Zaho Jiujiu had just been killed.

After Zhao Jiujiu kidnapped Ye Qisheng, he used Ye Qisheng’s phone to send a message to his family saying that he would not go back that night. Because he is Ye Qisheng’s real uncle, Ling Sihang, who was trailing behind just sensed that he was wrong and did not call the police directly. When the accident happened, Zhao Jiujiu died; Ling Sihang found that his phone was full of calls from home. Given his state at that time, it was naturally impossible to go straight home, so in the end, the two disoriented boys chose to go to the hotel for the night.

Inside the clean and tidy twin room, two people’s backpacks were huddled crookedly on the sofa. Ling Sihang’s voice was dry as he said to Ye Qisheng: “Ye-zi,¹-zi: suffix added to a name to show a close relationship. go and take a shower first ba.”

He called again twice more but the distraught Ye Qisheng slowly lifted his head and looked at him with empty eyes.

Ling Sihang took a breath erratically. He reached out his hand and took hold of Ye Qisheng’s right hand hanging on his side.

Two distinct hands were held together, Ye Qisheng was like grabbing the last plank, tightly holding Ling Sihang’s hand. As a result, the two hands which were only shaking slightly overlaid their movements and shook violently between the two.

Ling Sihang closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was only the figure of Ye Qisheng left in his eyes. He whispered, “Go ahead ba. No matter what, I am here.”

Ye Qisheng’s throat rolled a few times, and he stared at Ling Sihang with blank and helpless eyes, the only one who shared his secret with him. After a long time, he slowly relaxed the strength of his hands, turning around, and went to the bathroom.

The heavy steps made a “squeaking” sound on the smooth floor, and the bathroom door was closed. After a while, the sound of water came from inside.

Ling Sihang took a deep breath as if he had been drained out of his strength. He struggled to sit back on the sofa, lowered his head, and buried his face in his hands.

The curved back, the sluggish interior, and the sound of running water with no change in tone became the background sound. Although no one could see Ling Sihang’s expression, everyone felt the heavy, deadly despair in him.

After a while, Ling Sihang slowly straightened his back and his movements also looked very stiff, but he still turned his head to look in the direction of the bathroom.

The sound of the water there has not changed.

Ling Sihang frowned. He held the sofa and stood up. When he got up, he tripped over himself. After stabilizing his figure, he quickly walked towards the bathroom. After a moment’s hesitation at the door, he still spoke: “Ye-zi, Ye-zi?”

No one answered him.

Ling Sihang closed his eyes and shook his head. After barely concentrating his mind, he listened to the sound inside the door. Suddenly, he fiercely locked his eyebrows and tapped the door several times without getting a response. Ling Sihang took a deep breath, directly stored his strength, and raised his leg, kicking the door to the bathroom.

“BANG!!”

After a loud noise, the door slammed against the wall and Ling Sihang hurriedly rushed in. He saw under the shower, the drenched Ye Qisheng was curling up in the corner with his knees in his arms, trembling sharply.

There was no water vapor in the bathroom, and all the water coming out of the shower was ice-cold water. Ling Sihang rushed over and pressed the switch, squatting down and wrapping his arms around Ye Qisheng, whose clothes had been completely wet.

“Ye-zi, Ye-zi, you look at me……”

He leaned over to dissipate a bit of the cold temperature in his body, like being rescued from drowning. Ye Qisheng gasped a few times and then grabbed Ling Sihang’s hand.

His body was still trembling and even his voice was affected.

“Sihang……there, there’s blood. It’s all blood……”

Ye Qisheng’s voice was hoarse and desperate, like rough sandstone grinding on the tender flesh of the scarlet overflowing bloody wound.

“Can’t wash it off, I can’t wash it off……I’ll never be washed clean!”

He hugged Ling Sihang’s arm and cried roughly. In the narrow and cramped room, only two trapped boys hugging each other with difficulty, and falling together into the pitch-black, incomparable abyss.

——“Cut!”

With Liu Longfei’s shout, everyone looked at Ma Lao on the side, who had been persevering all morning, took another look at the screen before saying, “All right.”

The two main actors did not say anything yet, while the staffs who sprinkled water, lighted, cleaned up, and took close-ups collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Oh my god, this scene is finally over!

When the set became lively again, the assistants gathered around and gave towels to the two leads, only then did An Xumo wake up.

He just……he can’t believe he got enthralled in watching.

Although all the details of the process were fully memorized, An Xumo could tell that he had not just memorized and figured out the acting technique as he did before. He was immersed in the whole scene like a pure spectator, worrying about the future of the two protagonists.

In that scene just now, Zhou Jinchen and Lin Rui’s performances were evenly split. They both played extremely well, balancing and making up for each other so that the onlookers on the whole set will be immersed in this atmosphere.

The acting skills of the two film emperors have reached the point of perfection.

An Xumo can’t help but remember what Zhou Jinchen said to him yesterday —— filming a kissing scene with Lin Ruo, he would be compared to the obvious gap.

Even though he already had a deep experience when he was watching before, but after listening to Zhou Jinchen’s words, An Xumo came to examine himself again and would still be grieved by the gap between them.

Ordinary scenes are fine. For key scenes like a kissing scene which requires an emotional outburst, he will certainly be overwhelmed and directly taken away by the other party’s rhythm.

At that time, even if he passes Ma Lao’s level, the audience will be able to see it at a glance when the final film comes out.

He still has to study hard and make progress.

It’s also for this reason that Zhou Jinchen said that he would replace the kissing scene. However, An Xumo did not understand that his brother’s acting skills were enough to rival that of Emperor Lin. If he had acted with him, he would certainly be overwhelmed by his acting skills……

When An Xumo was thinking about this, he saw Lin Rui and Zhou Jinchen dr4p3d in towels walking outside. An Xumo stood at the exit and the two people just walked towards him.

Lin Rui was reaching out and touching his throat, apparently affected by the crying outburst he just had. However, it seems that he is in a good mood, smiling, and Zhou Jinchen is saying something.

The two were getting closer and closer, and An Xumo who is still thinking about the kissing scene, could not help feeling a little guilty. After calming down a bit, he was about to give for others when Zhou Jinchen, who was listening to Lin Rui on his side, suddenly stopped and turned his eyes over.

“Have you finished filming your scene?”

The man’s body still carried some water vapor, and the ice-cold breath came over but it did not show much coldness.

An Xumo did not expect Zhou Jinchen would talk to him. He froze for a moment and hurriedly nodded, “I finished filming.”

Lin Rui on the side also stopped and looked at An Xumo, “Eh, right. Today is the day An Xumo officially starts filming?”

An Xumo: “Yes.”

Zhou Jinchen said, “What’s the progress?”

An Xumo answered honestly, “Director Ma said that it was okay and it ended just half an hour ago.”

The people on the set called Ma Mingcheng as Ma Lao and when they called Director Ma, they were addressing Ma Zechi.

Zhou Jinchen didn’t say anything but Lin Rui raised his eyebrows and smiled, “I thought we were fast enough, but I didn’t expect Xiao An’s side to be more powerful.”

An Xumo smiled shyly, “Only filmed the dance scene, the content was relatively small so it ended early.”

“There are two more scenes in the afternoon.” Zhou Jinchen’s voice rang out as he looked at An Xumo with his eyes lowered, “The second one has your part.”

An Xumo nodded, “En, I remember. It’s the set right here.”

While the two were talking, Lin Rui turned his gaze over them. Finally, he landed his eyes on Zhou Jinchen.

Lin Rui’s voice still carried his usual smile and nothing unusual could be heard: “I didn’t expect……Jinchen also wrote down Xiao An’s filming schedule?”

•·················•·················•

The author has something to say:

Xiao Mo will be filming with his brother soon _(:3」∠)_

Chapter 49 – Blow Xiao Mo’s face

An Xumo’s whole person directly froze.

And brother, to touch……

He didn’t even dare to say that word completely. An Xumo was knocked unconscious by the gift that fell from the sky. The gift tied with a butterfly knot not only jumped into his arms, but also automatically untied the bow, and shouted “Surprise!” lifting the lid.

When he was eight years old, An Xumo once had a dream. He dreamed that someone remembered his birthday, the housekeeper brought up a cake with candles, his classmates laughed and sang him a birthday song, his uncles and aunts who had always been unsmiling,¹不苟言笑: serious in speech and manner; reticent; taciturn (idiom); doesn’t laugh with words, describes a solemn attitude. and the other elders of the family, finally gave him a pleasant face and said happy birthday to him.

That was the deepest wish in An Xumo’s memory, and the drop after waking up also made him slowly learn to stop being delusional. As the mark grew, he knew more and more, and he no longer had such unforgettable²刻骨铭心: lit. carved in bones and engraved in the heart (idiom); fig. etched in one’s memory; unforgettable expectation

However, the words An Xumo heard now is more than the wish buried deep in his heart since childhood……

More like wishful thinking.

But An Xumo knew that he was not dreaming.

—— He had never given birth to such a bold idea even in his subconscious.

When An Xumo froze, Zhou Jinchen had already leaned over and brought the mineral water on the table. He unscrewed the cap of the Evian bottle, took a sip, and put the bottle back.

An Xumo’s vacant sight also moved along with Zhou Jinchen’s movements. After the latter placed the water bottle on the table, he saw the boy staring at the water bottle blankly.

It wasn’t until Zhou Jinchen handed over the orange juice on the table that An Xumo was forced to come back to his senses. He hurriedly took the juice. “Thank, thank you.”

Zhou Jinchen saw him receive the juice before continuing to explain, “You haven’t performed before to be able to endure the risk, and the contrast with Lin Rui in the same frame will be apparent. He will not lower his level because of you, and if he doesn’t cooperate, it’s easy to steal all your shots.”

“So I suggested to Ma Lao to replace the kissing scene. If there’s something you can’t do, I will teach you.”

He still speaks in a straightforward and reasonable tone, and you can’t hear any comforting tone. Yet, for An Xumo it’s very clear, this is already an exception for Zhou Jinchen——for so many days together in the same crew An Xumo has been watching on the set, he naturally understood that. In addition to Ma Lao, his brother has never explained the plot to other actors.

But as a matter of fact, An Xumo is no longer in the mood to consider the exception this time.

If it could be concealed just now, An Xumo’s face could not even be hidden now. His face was completely red that he could only bury his head lower and lower in Zhou Jinchen’s line of sight. Lower and lower.

“Thank you, brother.”

“……”

Zhou Jinchen looked at An Xumo, who almost buried his head in his chest and talked to him, and his sight lingered again in the person’s red-stained ears.

He said faintly, “In front of the camera, this is work.”

“……hmm.” An Xumo answered in a low voice but still did not raise his head.

He repeatedly recited “acting is work, work is work” three times in his heart before he could finally speak in a normal tone, “I understand. I will try my best.”

It was already ten o’clock in the evening. After Zhou Jinchen left, only An Xumo was left alone in the room. He held the unopened bottle of orange juice and repeatedly constructed his mind——

The kissing scene is also work. You should perform well and try your best to play this role.

But……

An Xumo rested his forehead against the juice bottle, a slight coolness passed along his skin.

How is it possible to calm down? The purpose of his work was originally to see his brother……

An Xumo inwardly lamented.

Heavens bless him, don’t let him lose sleep tonight. He can’t start filming tomorrow with dark circles under his eyes ah.

–

Even though he tried to sleep, An Xumo still slept a little less than usual and woke up before the alarm clock rang in the morning.

Fortunately, after staring at himself in the mirror for a while, An Xumo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He’s still smooth at the moment and no dark circles had surfaced yet.

Before the crew started to work, the make-up artists styled An Xumo. What he is going to shoot today is an indoor play at the Ballet Theater, and there are several places in the film where the performance shots will be used. This scene is quite professional, but for An Xumo, it should be considered as the easiest one. It is also to take care of his first time acting that the crew arranged the scene ahead.

After putting on a white vest, gymnastic pants, and soft-soled shoes, An Xumo went to the theater stage with the other extras. The first thing he had to do was to shoot a group training scene so he also wore training clothes.

When the theater scene started, the filming in other studios also continued. Therefore, the person who was here to direct was not Ma Lao, but his son Ma Zechi.

Ma Zechi is thirty-six years old, he grew up with Ma Mingcheng between film and camera. He has filmed a series of excellent works, including 《The Scarecrow》, and had faintly taken the lead among the new generation of young directors.

However, there is one more interesting point about Ma Zechi——apart from his equally excellent directing talent, Ma Zechi and his father, Ma Mingcheng, have almost nothing in common in terms of personality.

Ma Mingcheng has an eccentric character and a hot temper. In his early years, he dared to challenge the producer directly. Due to his personality, he seldom makes detours. Ma Zechi, on the other hand, is just the opposite, it’s difficult for others to see slowness in him. Unless it touches his bottom line, Ma Zechi usually smiles and can get along with the crew. The father and son are together, but Ma Zechi takes care of his father a little more.

If it were not for Ma Zechi’s temper, as a well-known director who has developed a reputation, he would not have followed the crew of 《Different Roads》. It’s not uncommon for fathers and sons in the industry to travel together, but compared with other juniors who always wants to escape the influence of their elders, Ma Zechi’s choice is really rare.

However, when discussing the second generation of stars, the industry has long been unanimously recognized. Over time, Ma Zechi’s achievement will never be less than those of his father.

Therefore, even if Ma Lao did not personally come for the same shooting at different locations, the quality of the filming process will not be reduced.

When he was delivering papaya rib soup to Ma Lao, An Xumo had once talked with Ma Zechi before. After that, he kept getting along with the crew, and Ma Zechi had a good impression of An Xumo. Before the filming of the stage scenes, he explained several main points in advance.

“The first thing you have to shoot this time is your dance practice shots. You are responsible for making the ballet dance well.” Ma Zechi said. “The camera position has been adjusted but in order to enrich the footage, I may stop at any time and let you start over. You pay attention, keep dancing well, and don’t get interrupted.”

An Xumo: “Okay.”

“Then again, you can’t just dance, you should pay attention to where the camera is. It will actively chase you, but you also have to think about showing yourself at the most appropriate angle for the camera.”

Ma Zechi finished speaking, then the conversation changed, “But you have to remember that you must not look at the camera. In today’s scene, there’s no need for you to look at the camera part.”

Showing it to the camera without making the audience aware of the existence of the camera is a problem that new actors often have trouble with, that is why Ma Zechi specifically reminded him.

He knew that An Xumo had previous stage experience, but idols only have to do the first half, and if An Xumo really behaved like in an MV, today’s progress would definitely become difficult.

However, after the cameras were in place after the clapperboard sounded to start the shooting, Ma Zechi found that his worries seemed……a little superfluous.

There are two rows of dancers on the stage, and there are three ballet pairs of man and a woman in front. An Xumo and his partner are arranged in the middle position, which is convenient for the camera, but Ma Zechi watched from the stage. Nonetheless, it gave birth to an idea that even without his arrangement, An Xumo would be able to stand out from the crowd.

For the sake of the shot’s quality, today’s accompanying dancers are all ballet dancers borrowed from City S Ballet, and their professional quality is absolutely excellent. Ma Zechi knows that An Xumo is not a professional ballet so he had specially reserved some time to give the boy who performs for the first time more opportunities to adjust.

But now it seems that he is worrying too much.

The infectious music reverberated through the scene, and although the tracks of these scenes would be replaced later, the crew carefully chose the live radio. The bright beams of light are concentrated on the center stage. The graceful and dynamic dance performed by the handsome and young dancer is pleasing to the eyes. The light rendered a hazy silhouette for his lean, slender body, and his elegant movements allowed the audience, who knew nothing about dance, to appreciate the leaping, vibrant beauty.

As the camera zoomed in, the young dancer’s face was handsome and beautiful with impeccable eyes and eyebrows. The extremely pixelated camera will magnify the face several times, and there’s no place to hide any flaws and defects, but what is magnified in An Xumo’s face is an incomparable delicate beauty.

His light brown eyes are clear and transparent, like an expensive diamond flowing in brilliance, but also like a rare amber that is dynamic and clear. The curved outlines of his eyes make them appear a bit large, giving rise to a rare and innocent childishness. An Xumo’s nose is exceedingly beautiful and small, and the overall appearance of his facial features are extraordinarily exquisite.

The most unforgettable thing that makes people unable to move their eyes is the slightly visible beads on his upper lip which are sweet and stunning with a seductive and sexy atmosphere. These two kinds of temperament are perfectly blended, which is the ultimate beauty that is tempting to pick up but difficult to touch.

There are always some people who are born with looks alone, which is enough to attract the attention of the public.

Ma Zechi suddenly understood why his father would shoot An Xumo to play Bai Qingchi on the spot.

The boy’s usual performance previously was quite introverted and shy. Ma Zechi could not even believe that he was an astonishingly hot rising star some time ago if he had not been introduced. Yet now that the camera is on, Ma Zechi can come to a conclusion on the spot——he can definitely play this important supporting role.

The biggest difficulty with Bai Qingchi’s role is not vulnerability, but to arouse the audience’s sympathy——he must be beautiful enough to make everyone who sees him feel good about him. Only in this way, when Bai Qingchi is hurt, the viewer will feel sorry, heartache, and sorrow.

There is no doubt that An Xumo meets this standard a hundred percent.

Chapter 48 – Don’t kiss Lin Rui, kiss me

Jie Jie: Hi! I posted tomorrow’s chapter in advance and will be posting the next chapter on Wednesday (⌒▽⌒)☆

•·················•·················•

The hotel where the crew stayed in is a large chain business hotel in the country. In addition to good accommodation, other facilities are also developed. The seventeenth-floor rooftop mentioned in the text message, An Xumo had followed the crew before, it’s actually a semi-open-air and semi-enclosed high-level platform with several single sofas indoors and you can watch the stars outdoors in the open air.

Today, the crew did not have night scenes so the work is over after filming the indoor part. When An Xumo arrived with the script, it was not yet nine o’clock. He stepped on the steps and pushed open the door. At a glance, he saw Zhou Jinchen not far away.

The interior part of the room is well-heated and the man’s coat was resting on the armrest of the sofa, wearing only a black turtleneck sweater. He should have just taken a shower, the hairstyle during the day has disappeared and his body has regained the usual lingering breath that belongs to an adult man.

When An Xumo saw his brother at a glance, he couldn’t help but soften his voice.

There was no one else in the room when An Xumo came in. Zhou Jinchen was flipping through the script in his hands, and there were two bottles of drinks on the high table in front of him. One of which was mineral water and the other was an orange-flavored juice. When the man heard the movement at the door, he raised his eyes and looked over. There was still a little distance between the two, but An Xumo clearly saw the fine, bright spots in the other’s eyes.

“Brother Jinchen,” An Xumo called out softly.

Brother’s eyes are so beautiful.

The two single sofa seats were very close together that when An Xumo sat down, he could even reach out and touch Zhou Jinchen’s coat. He sat up straight with some restraint and laid out the script in his hand on the flat table in front of him, waiting for Zhou Jinchen to speak.

“Have you read the new script?” Zhou Jinchen’s voice has always been low and carried a sense of coldness, but perhaps, it was because the temperature in the room is relatively high today that listening to his voice, An Xumo felt his tension gradually eased down.

“En.” He nodded.

Zhou Jinchen put the script in his hand aside, his ten fingers crossed on his lap, and he said to An Xumo, “Tell me your understanding.”

An Xumo froze for a moment and asked, “Is it the understanding of the newly revised scenes……?”

“No,” Zhou Jinchen said. “For this character.”

An Xumo sorted out his speech and said, “Bai Qingchi is a character who seems to be somewhat vulnerable on the surface. Whether he is learning ballet or being disgusted by his parents because of Zhao Jiujiu’s harassment, he’s always in a state of hurting. However, he always adhered to his ideals and bottom line, which is why he adopted a foster son who also dreamed of dancing and chose to come forward and give the final evidence.”

This is An Xumo’s previous consideration of the role of Bai Qingchi. He himself made a lot of notes on the script as if doing a reading comprehension in senior high school, analyzing every word and every action of Bai Qingchi. This time, Zhou Jinchen asked him about his understanding and he chose a part of the most certain content and briefly described it.

Sure enough, after listening to his answer, Zhou Jinchen didn’t raise any objections. “This pair of contradicting words is the most basic and fundamental part of Bai Qingchi’s character. After you start acting, you have to grasp the middle point between vulnerability and strength. You can neither feel sorry for yourself nor look unaffected in the slightest.”

“I understand.” An Xumo carefully wrote down what Zhou Jinchen had said.

An Xumo’s understanding of the role did not deviate. Zhou Jinchen said a few words then casually mentioned a few random lines which An Xumo also responded skillfully.

“For the specific acting method, there will be the director to guide you when you start filming tomorrow.” Zhou Jinchen said. “You just understand what they’re saying.”

“Okay.” An Xumo nodded obediently again.

It is the director’s job to guide the scene and explain the performance, so Zhou Jinchen did not overstep his authority. In fact, this is not the first time he called out An Xumo to analyze the plot. Since the last time, he said the reason of “reading the script” in front of Lin Rui, Zhou Jinchen, and An Xumo will discuss the issues related to the plot from time to time.

Although the man’s words weren’t much but his correction during the time always hit the nail on the head,¹一针见血: lit. to draw blood on the first prick (idiom); fig. to hit the nail on the head; to be accurately right about something and for An Xumo, he also received a lot of help on the mental aspect.

The acting teacher had previously mentioned to An Xumo that the manner of observing other actors is feasible, but copying other people’s line of thought is a dead end. Mainly as a newcomer, once someone influences his ideas about acting, there is a great possibility that the newcomer will be limited to a fixed routine, and it will be difficult to have his own thinking ability for himself.

An Xumo only remembered these words from his teacher before, and it wasn’t until he started discussing the script to Zhou Jinchen that he really understood the meaning of these words——An Xumo was able to perceive that his brother had never interfered him with his own ideas. He always let An Xumo speak first then point out the mistakes and expanded on his shortcomings.

This is the first time he was able to work with his brother in filming, from An Xumo’s personal emotions, in his career, it was a blessing.

It was the same with today’s conversation, Zhou Jinchen’s reaction was the same as usual but it made An Xumo’s state much better.

If there was no new kissing scene, An Xumo would be able to wait with a piece of mind for his first shoot tomorrow.

——But the problem is, he still has a kissing scene.

The part that should be discussed was basically over. Seeing that the other party does not have the intention to continue speaking, An Xumo hesitated for a while then said, “Then, about Bai Qingchi, his emotional part in the scene……”

Zhou Jinchen raised his eyes to look at him: “En?”

An Xumo summoned up his courage and said, “It’s the newly added scenes, the emotional scene between him and the two main characters……how to comprehend this? I don’t think the script is clearly written. In the end, who does Bai Qingchi like……”

Because it was difficult to directly mention the 37th kiss scene, he had to cover it up casually with something else, and the more An Xumo said, the more his voice grew smaller, and in the end, he got stuck in embarrassment.

Fortunately, Zhou Jinchen did not mind and said directly, “Don’t think about this issue first. What’s clear now is that for Bai Qingchi, whether it’s Ling Sihang or Ye Qisheng, what they did is no different from Zaho Jiujiu, Bai Qingchi is still also hurting.”

An Xumo was stunned and said, “……hurting?”

“En. That’s why Bai Qingchi finally chose to expose the evidence,” Zhou Jinchen said, “and not let any of the murderers escape.”

An Xumo opened his mouth. “That’s why Bai Qingchi is here……to hand over the evidence?”

“I,” he stumbled, “I thought it was because he liked Ling Sihang and wanted to save the person from coming out……”

Zhou Jinchen looked at him and the room was suddenly quiet.

Despite saying Bai Qingchi likes Ling Sihang, it’s difficult for An Xumo to be justified. Once the character content is peeled off, this sentence becomes, and he likes……

People who are secretly in love are always worried that their feelings will be seen by the other party.

After a long silence, he only heard Zho Jinchen say, “What you said, Mr. Tao had also thought about it.”

Mr. Tao is the scriptwriter of 《Different Roads》 and the changes have been carried out by him and Ma Lao these days.

“Bai Qingchi’s role is still being adjusted and Mr. Tao wants to find the most suitable setting for the role, including his experience and his emotional choices.” Zhou Jinchen looked at An Xumo, “Therefore, what you have to do now is to act the role that was determined previously, as for the rest, you’ll have to wait for their deliberation.”

An Xumo breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied, “I will.”

He remembered that when he told him that the 37th scene was a kissing scene, Zhou Jinchen’s reaction was also a little hesitant. When answering him, his brother always used the words “will change” and “under adjustment” in this way, it seems that there may be a change for the better in the end.

An Xumo just put down his heart a little when he hears Zhou Jinchen say, “You brought the new script?”

An Xumo hurriedly nodded his head and moved the script in front of him in the direction of the two men.

“Good,” Zhou Jinchen said. “There are a few scenes of Bai Qingchi that will be drastically changed. You can skip them first.”

An Xumo paused for a moment, then hurriedly turned to the table of contents page, waiting for Zhou Jinchen to say the scenes that were going to be changed.

In fact, in his mind, his brother’s reaction over the past few days also made An Xumo a bit suspicious. Zhou Jinchen gets along well with the other actors in the crew, but because of his own personality, he can’t really blend in, and the sense of distance between them will always exist.

An Xumo saw all these things, so when his brother really took the trouble to help him with the script, even the crew began to hear rumors that Zhou Jinchen publicly said in front of the media that he liked An Xumo very much. An Xumo’s first reaction wasn’t delight but worry.

Today’s getting along together is also the same. His brother is only responsible for playing the leading role, but he will remind him in advance of the changes in the scenes of the other characters.

He did not think he would be special to this extent.

An Xumo used to have nothing before, so he didn’t have to worry about losing. But now there is a long-awaited gift tied with a fiery red bow falling from the sky,²从天而降: lit. to drop from the sky (idiom); fig. to appear unexpectedly; to arise abruptly; out of the blue; to drop into one’s lap. An Xumo is not sure that if he really held the gift in his arms, someone will suddenly inform him that this is illegal proceeds, and will confiscate it immediately.

He can only hold it for one more second.

An Xumo tried to regain his mind, listening to Zhou Jinchen’s words, and began to outline the script. “Thirty-four, thirty-seven, thirty-nine, and forty-one.”

“……there’s thirty-seven, right?” An Xumo nervously confirmed it once again.

Zhou Jinchen’s answer was direct and straightforward: “The kissing scene with Ye Qisheng? Deleted.”

An Xumo almost couldn’t control his expression.

“Really?” He paused for several seconds before he dared to ask, his light brown eyes opened wider, round, and stealthy like a cat.

“En.”

An Xumo’s heart, which had been raised for many days, was finally eased down. It would be great to make sure it was deleted. While he was celebrating his good fortune, he heard Zhou Jinchen say, “I suggested that Ma Lao and Mr. Tao to delete it.”

“……”

An Xumo secretly pinched himself.

……surprisingly, it was not a dream.

He guessed carefully, “Is it because it doesn’t quite fit in the plot?”

“More than that.” The man’s voice was like the waves of the sea at night, moistening An Xumo’s eardrums a little in this quiet and warm room.

An Xumo heard his brother say, “In addition, this is a scene that requires an emotional outburst, with your current acting skills, to film a kissing scene with Lin Rui, you will definitely be compared with him with an obvious gap.”

“The screen will magnify everything, and the effect of the film will be dire for you.”

The side of his face burned into pieces, even the tips of his ears were burning.

An Xumo didn’t know whether he should be embarrassed or happy, he replied softly, “Thank, thank you, Brother Jinchen.”

Zhou Jinchen looked at him.

An Xumo added in a low voice, “Thank you, brother.”

It was only then did Zhou Jinchen took his eyes back.

An Xumo raised his hand to rub the side of his face, his hands and feet’s temperature has always been relatively low. Yet now, the contrast is more obvious when he is scalded by the temperature of his side face.

However, it did not occur to him that what he had just experienced was nothing compared to Zhou Jinchen’s next words.

Outside the window is a deep dark night and bright lights, and there is a gentle warm light inside the room. The black turtleneck sweater perfectly came out of Zhou Jinchen’s broad shoulders and narrow waist, but the man’s words attracted more attention than his figure and appearance.

“So I suggested to Mr. Tao that the actor necessary for this kissing scene should be changed to me and you.”

•·················•·················•

The author has something to say:

To explain, in practical terms, it’s impossible for idols, who have never acted before, to act skillfully on their first time. Because there is no plot such as rebirth and soul exchange set in the text. The foreshadowing can be arranged in the preparatory part before the play, including professional teacher for acting class, Ma Lao’s firm temperament, the crew’s fondness and care, Wang Xiangming and the other actor’s good impression and tips, as well as the elder brother to help with the script. These are all to give special attention to Xiao An’s first acting so that An Xumo can have a good performance in the film and smoothly attract fans, instead of becoming a shame of pushing too hard in a blockbuster film and ended up being ridiculed by the crowd.

That’s why this part of Xiao Mo before filming is written in such detail. After that, Xiao Mo starts filming and it will be very smooth~

Chapter 47 – The kissing scene was knocked by my brother

Once these questions came out, the scene suddenly seemed a bit awkward.

However, even if it was awkward, no one took the initiative to ease the atmosphere. Everyone was staring at Zhou Jinchen, waiting for him to answer this abrupt but completely powerful question.

Lin Rui on the side froze slightly for a moment and subconsciously looked at the man beside him.

Nonetheless, his identity is different from that of a reporter. No matter how he thinks in his heart, he considers the problem from an actor’s standpoint. Lin Rui has made his debut for many years, when he first won the film emperor in his early years, he faced no less difficult questions than Zhou Jinchen. Thus, he had also experienced this kind of question, knowing that he would be more appropriate to answer than Zhou Jinchen.

Yet, when Lin Rui just wanted to help solve the situation, he heard Zhou Jinchen say, “If I really have to say it, I actually only have one choice.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on Zhou Jinchen, even Lin Rui didn’t have time to hide his eyes. Some media couldn’t wait and even pressed, “Who is it?”

Zhou Jinchen’s expression still did not fluctuate much, but the answer he gave made everyone ignore his expression, “An Xumo.”

There was a momentary silence around.

In stark contrast to the quiet atmosphere was the ecstasy within the journalists in the scene. They simply did not know whether to see Lin Rui’s current expression first or continue to ask Zhou Jinchen the reason why. The reporter who asked this question even wanted to leave the meeting directly and send the news to their headquarters to be the first to send the news out.

What exciting news! He even thought of the title—— “Powerful confrontation against Film Emperor’s discord! Zhou Jinchen bluntly stated he didn’t like Lin Rui and would rather choose to cooperate with An Xumo”.

But before the media at the scene were too happy about this shocking secret for too long, Zhou Jinchen had already taken over, “Mr. Lin is my senior, I’m An Xumo’s senior. I can only assess Xiao An. As for my cooperation with Mr. Lin, I have to wait for Mr. Lin to evaluate it.”

“So, I only have one choice.”

The crowd in the room was stupefied again.

This was an excuse, right?

Can they just cut off the second half and just write the first answer?

However, considering the strong public relations and legal capabilities of the agency team behind Zhou Jinchen, the reporters present had to shelve this rather risky idea for the time being.

……heat is important, but safety is more important.

Someone who wanted to continue digging took advantage of the trend and asked Lin Rui, “What does Mr. Lin Rui think about this cooperation?”

Lin Rui had long returned his usual gentle elegance, he smiled at the words, “Me? Does this question still need to be asked? Jinchen is a very attractive young actor. In my eyes, he almost became the most attractive actor.”

A reporter curiously asked, “Why is it almost?”

Lin Rui pointed to himself, “Because in my eyes, the winner of this title is myself and he is a little bit worse than me.”

There was a sudden burst of laughter around

As soon as Lin Rui eased the atmosphere, the reporter who initially asked this sharp question was not reconciled to it. He squeezed in again and exclaimed, “Since Mr. Zhou said that only seniors are qualified to evaluate the collaboration, I would like to ask Mr. Lin Rui to answer as a senior. Which of the two younger generations do you think more highly of, Mr. Zhou or An Xumo?”

Lin Rui quietly glanced at the reporter, obviously dissatisfied with the way this person asked questions.

Although he did have a different opinion between Zhou Jinchen and An Xumo, this kind of question obviously cannot be directly put on the surface. At that time, if there is news of discord breaking out, not only the three of them will be affected, but even Ma Lao will be unhappy——in a previous movie directed by Ma Lao, the fans of the male and female lead clashed because of promotion problems, which eventually turned into a fan war. Many media have also carried out continuous reports on this matter. Although Ma Lao did not say anything on the surface, in all of his subsequent films, the publicity has become more and more rigorous, and he never worked with the two leading actor and actress again.

Therefore, Lin Rui can’t be the rafter.¹出头椽子: Its a metaphor for people who dare to come forward when encountering things and doesn’t consider personal safety. I really had a hard time on how to explain this part. On the bright side, he must maintain a good relationship with the people he is dealing with.

Nevertheless, although he was dissatisfied with the reporters’ trap-like ways of asking questions, Lin Rui is not easy to attack in public. He really wanted to make a few tai chi²打太极: shirk responsibility, which might be equivalent to “make excuses” and “avoid the topic of discussion” moves to muddle through the question, but Zhou Jinchen on the side said, “This question is highly confidential, Brother Rui can’t answer you.”

The reporters present didn’t understand, and they looked at Zhou Jinchen in confusion. Some were still thinking, did they just easily let go of pursuing Zhou Jinchen’s question too easily to let the other party find out another such far-fetched reason?

But Lin Rui who was robbed of his answer understood.

He quickly smiled and said, “Yes, this is one of the biggest suspense in Different Roads, I can’t reveal it now.”

There are some reporters who have not figured out the situation, but others quickly reacted and asked, “Mr. Lin, is it true that in the movie, the characters played by Mr. Zhou and Xiao An are chasing you?”

Lin Rui showed a meaningful smile, “This question will be known when the movie is released.”

–

The question, what kind of emotional experience did Lin Rui’s character played in the film, had successfully aroused the appetite of the media. While the outside world stirred up the love triangle in the film and piqued the curiosity of the public with vague and warm descriptions, An Xumo who knew the content of the script in advance was not happy at all.

The day before Bai Qingchi’s filming began, Tang Tang finally helped him get the revised script from Sister Liu. After the brand new script was opened, it was clearly written in the 37th scene that——he has to film a kissing scene with Lin Riu.

Moreover, it was also the kind that was broken by Zhou Jinchen on the spot.

An Xumo propped up his forehead and looked at the cover of the script for five minutes before he had to accept the reality and re-read the script from the beginning.

After the revision, the script has changed a lot of details. The more elaborate on the spot performances in the previous filming was also added, and a lot of differences can be found afterwards. However, overall, the main character around the changes is Bai Qingchi, the male four. He was originally a secret thread, waiting for the final jigsaw puzzle but suddenly, he was given richer settings and actions.

The most obvious plot is that this role which was initially related to Ye Qisheng’s uncle, Zhao JiuJiu, has now become an important turning point in the lives of the two protagonists.

In the movie’s plot, in order to keep the police from noticing but also not to see each other and remember the terrible nightmare of that day, Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng planned to pretend to break apart from being close friends to sworn enemies. In the old version of the script, the cause of this separation was originally a competition between the two people vying for the only recommendation.³recommendation for school admission. Ye Qisheng was successfully selected while the unsuccessful Ling Sihang chose to study abroad and planned to emigrate with his family.

However, in the revised script, the excuse for the separation becomes extreme jealousy when the rivals in love met each other——Ling Sihang and Ye Qisheng both fell in love with the cold and slim ballet dancer, Bai Qingchi, and the scene of Ye Qisheng and Bai Qingchi kissing was broken by Ling Sihang. Disheartened, Ling Sihang decided to go abroad. After separating from his best friend, Ye Qisheng did not continue his relationship with Bai Qingchi. On the contrary, because he felt guilty about his best friend, he no longer gave in to homosexuality but chose to marry and have children.

The plot can be rounded back, and the second method clearly has more conflicts. After all, Ling Sihang’s secret love in the main plot is too hidden that it’s not revealed until the end of the movie. With the addition of the element of a romantic rival, the film can vaguely express Ling Sihang’s feelings for Ye Qisheng in advance. This kind of sour but invigorating triangle inside and outside the play is more able to touch the audience’s mood.

Thinking about it, when all the audience followed the police’s reasoning of investigating the case and thought that Ling Sihang made a clean break with Ye Qisheng because the person he likes, Bai Qingchi, was snatched away from Ye Qisheng. However, the movie simply and rudely told everyone in the end that——the person Ling Sihang liked was Ye Qisheng and in order to protect his good friend and secret love, Ling Sihang did not only cooperated with the play but also went abroad for many years and never returned home. In the end, he even took the blame for Ye Qisheng’s crime.

This is a blunt knife grinding meat, the more you think about it, the more painful the story is.

Taking the role of Ling Sihang is actually a very good opportunity for Zhou Jinchen. The comparison between superficial indifference to everything and in contrast to forbearing deep love inside immediately makes this character three-dimensional, and Zhou Jinchen’s acting skills can also fully support this setting.

However, this additional scene for An Xumo is really not a good thing.

If it was just a kissing scene with Lin Rui, An Xumo, who acted for the first time, perhaps, maybe he might be able to cope with it. But when he films the kissing scene in front of Zhou Jinchen, he will be knocked against by his brother in the scene……

An Xumo took two deep breaths before trying to keep himself calm on the surface and pressed through Tang Tang’s phone number.

“Hello?”

Tan Tang had just said half a word when she heard over An Xumo say in an extremely serious voice: “If I quit the crew now, what will be the consequences?”

“……ah?” Tang Tang was stupefied at first, then said in a tough dialect, “What are you talking about, who are you? Why are you holding Xiao Mo’s phone?!”

“Tang Tang, it’s me.” An Xumo’s voice trailed off, “I’m kidding, it’s nothing. Please don’t take it seriously.”

Tang Tang was really startled. After all, in her eyes, even if her own artist strips, the appearance is certainly not naked, but full of two big words written all over: Dedication.⁴敬业: two words in raw. How could such An Xumo suddenly give birth to the idea of quitting the crew?

An Xumo naturally doesn’t know this strange thought in Tang Tang’s mind. After pacifying her for a while, he finally calmed down Tang Tang.

When the phone was hung up, An Xumo’s inner turmoil still ebbed and flowed, like a bubble under a transparent film that could not be dissipated no matter how hard he tried.

He stared at the script for a while before resigning to his fate, flipping through the cover, intending to memorize his new lines——tomorrow is the official start of filming for Bai Qingchi’s scene. An Xumo had no desire to tarnish his performance, even if it was difficult to accept.

There were not many line changes in the first few scenes, and An Xumo still had a few days to familiarize himself with the extra scenes. But for him with a good memory, one night was enough for him to memorize his lines.

Yet, when he opened the script, the phone on the table rang.

The text message alert tone made An Xumo subconsciously look up. He initially thought it was an advertising text message from the operator and did not pay much attention to it. However, when he saw the name on the screen, An Xumo quickly sat up straight and hurriedly reached out and took the phone over.

The screen showed a brief content.

“188xxxx0608: Rooftop outside the 17th corridor, come over.”

It wasn’t An Xumo’s private phone that received the message but in the work phone. In order to prevent accidental leakage, but also to keep the real name from being seen, An Xumo did not add a note to his brother.

188xxxx0608 is exactly Zhou Jinchen’s mobile phone number.

When An Xumo was about to click on the details to check, the phone in his palm vibrated again.

The second message prompt appeared from the top of the screen.

“188xxxx0608: Bring the script.”

The script?

An Xumo’s hand trembled.

After the revision……is there a new script for the kissing scene?

•·················•·················•

The author has something to say:

An Xumo: I can’t act……

Zhou Jinchen: I’ll teach you.

An Xumo: I don’t know how to read the scriptTAT

Zhou Jinchen: I’ll help you.

An Xumo: I can’t do a kissing sceneQAQ

Zhou Jinchen: I’ll kiss you.

An Xumo: ∑( °△ °|||)︴

Lin Rui: ??? (black question mark.jpg)

Chapter 46 – Who to choose between Lin Rui and Xiao An.

Jie Jie: Merry Christmas! Here are 2 chapters as my special gift for everyone! Enjoy! I hope everyone would have a great day! ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡

•·················•·················•

Unlike An Xumo’s friendly close contact, Zhou Jinchen’s fans did not get close to bother him.

After giving a circle of gifts, the Royal Guards finally waited for the opportunity to get in touch with Zhou Jinchen. This group of fans, who had just been so generous, now seemed a little nervous. Even when handing over the gifts to Zhou Jinchen, they discussed for a long time before they went up together.

Just looking at their performance in front of Zhou Jinchen, it’s really difficult to connect with the heroic image of those who just carried baskets and laid out gifts.

When An Xumo sent his fans back, he heard Tang Tang say, “Tsk, this is the difference between girlfriend fans and mother fans, ah.”

The media set visit organized by the crew is not yet over, and it looks like the interview will continue for a while. An Xumo’s next arrangement is to wait for the group lunch hosted by the crew, so there is nothing to do now.

Hearing Tang Tang’s words, An Xumo was a little confused, “Mother fans? Most of the people who came today are young people, right?”

“Mother fans does not refer to the age, but the mentality. The mother fan looks at their idol like a mother to her child. What the artists do is right and good, and they will always support unconditionally.” Tang Tang said, “Like Xiao Mo’s, most of your fans are mother fans.”

“……” An Xumo was silent for a moment, “Is that so?”

“Yes, ah.” Tang Tang continued to explain, “Brother Zhou’s situation is different where most of his fans are girlfriend fans. I remember that he seems to be one of the artists with the highest number of fans……and there are also some daughter fans.”

“……daughter fans?” An Xumo was filled with confusion.

“Yes. Girlfriend fans and daughter fans, these two groups are just as the name implies.” Tang Tang enthusiastically gave An Xumo social education, “One is to regard their idol as their ideal lover, and the other is willing to support their idol wholeheartedly. Among them, girlfriend fans are the strongest group in terms of fighting power. Many companies also tend to promote an image of attracting girlfriend fans to artists when positioning them to help develop more of such fans.”

An Xumo listened and frowned slightly.

He was a little puzzled: “If you’re an actor……don’t you use your acting skills to attract fans?”

“You have to grasp both hands firmly.” Tang Tang said, “Acting is a job an actor must do well, but actors like Brother Zhou will attract a large number of fans for their personal charm outside the play. These two concepts are not contradictory.”

Tang Tang gave An Xumo a whole lot more social education about how companies consolidate and develop fans before turning the topic back, “However, it’s only natural that Brother Zhou doesn’t have much mother fans. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to imagine Brother Zhou needing pampering and care.”

An Xumo gently licked his dry lips. He couldn’t help but look up at Zhou Jinchen who was not far away, confirming that the other party was standing there before retracting his eyes.

Tang Tang said she couldn’t imagine it, but An Xumo didn’t have to imagine. The memory of his brother lying in bed with a pale face that year was still incredibly new.

This is the only traumatic memory that he left behind of his own accord and did not deliberately try to avoid it.

An Xumo said softly, “No matter how strong a person is, there will be times when they need to be taken care of.”

“Yes, there will be.” Tang Tang nodded in agreement.

“But the stronger the person is, the less they are willing to expose their wounds. They would rather heal their own wounds without anyone knowing.” Tang Tang shrugged, “Like Brother Zhou, it’s as if he never needs anyone else to rely on. Anyway, I can’t figure out what kind of person would make Brother Zhou take the initiative to reveal his vulnerable side.”

An Xumo thought about it and found that he couldn’t seem to imagine it either.

In the past, he just used to look for energy from his brother, but he did not think about the matter of how the other party would replenish their energy.

Will, there be someone……providing energy to his brother?

An Xumo raised his head and took another look at his brother in the crowd who was surrounded by countless people and still had a calm expression.

He had some itchy feeling in his heart, like the frozen earth and the start of melting snow.

An Xumo said in a low voice, “He probably……need someone who is as good as him, right?”

–

Unlike An Xumo who has not yet started acting, Zhou Jinchen, as the lead actor, has to deal with most of the attacks from the media. After meeting with the fans, the assistant helped to put away the gifts fans sent, and Zhou Jinchen continued to participate in the individual interview session.

However, interviews like this, especially interviews with the crew being filmed are often somewhere between a waste of time and pointless questions.

“Mr. Zhou Jinchen, how does it feel to work with Ma Lao?”

—Ma Lao is an excellent director. I have benefitted a lot from working with him.

“How do you feel about your scenes with Film Emperor Lin?”

—The process of collaboration is good and the results are worth looking forward to.

“Have you encountered any difficulties during the filming process?”

—No, the cast and crew were very considerate and provided strong support.

This kind of question doesn’t even need to be asked, and the reporter can make up the answers themselves.

Moreover, Zhou Jinchen has made his debut for many years. He has rich experience facing the media and his interview has already reached the point where not one drop of water can leak. For questions he did not want to answer, no matter how he’s asked, it’s impossible to get answers.

Compared with the interview with the film emperor Zhou Jinchen, who only expressed his gratitude to the crew once, the media who came to visit the set are more inclined to get good information when interviewing newcomers.

For example——the new actor who made his debut as an idol, but received resources from a great director within half a year, An Xumo.

Judging from the video of An Xumo’s previous interview, his reaction in the interview was obviously a bit green.¹inexperiencedAlthough An Xumo has also avoided several trap questions set by the interviewer, the veteran reporter with a keen eye can tell that he has only received short-term expedited interview training, and is not really at ease.

Hence, even if An Xumo only plays a supporting role and can’t compare with Zhou Jinchen’s heat, reporters are still looking forward to getting breaking news out of him.

An Xumo’s popularity lies here and there are so many points he can dig out——even how many times he NG-ed in filming the first scene, he can directly write an eye-catching manuscript out.

Unfortunately, when the media arrived at the scene, they were suddenly told that An Xumo, who had already joined the group, would not be interviewed.

After all, the media who came to visit the set were invited by the production to cooperate. Even if they have regrets, no one would really start a conflict with the crew. At most, they would just secretly mutter to themselves.

Ultimately, no one is sure whether the newcomer is so protected because he has a background.

Nonetheless, although they can’t interview the person himself, they can still make an indirect approach to the others.

After someone finished asking questions about the double lead actor, a reporter then asked, “Mr. Zhou, is there any difference in the feeling of working together for the second time compared to the first time?”

Zhou Jinchen: “For the second time, with deeper conception, you will have more tacit understanding.”

The reporter asked slyly, “Thus, your relationship with the new actor is so good?”

Zhou Jinchen: “En?”

The reporter said, “This is also the second time that you have worked with An Xumo. What I just asked was how you feel about getting along with An Xumo.”

After he asked this, he followed up with another question about Lin Rui, which naturally made people think that the second collaboration referred to Lin Rui. Zhou Jinchen will certainly not give a bad evaluation of his senior. At this time, the reporter said that he was asking about An Xumo. Once Zhou Jinchen answered his assessment of An Xumo, he could obviously compare Zhou Jinchen’s attitude towards the two.

It’s important to know that in previous interviews, in addition to necessarily show respect to his seniors, Zhou Jinchen rarely answers the evaluation of other artists. He neither intends to praise others against his will nor does he want his criticism to be taken out of context to induce public opinion.

By now, the question about An Xumo has been placed in front of him. Zhou Jinchen is bound to give an answer whether negative or positive, and there is something to write when compared with Lin Rui’s answer. Even if Zhou Jinchen really avoids answering——not answering is also an attitude.

The other reporters around also lit up and stared at Zhou Jinchen waiting for an answer.

Yet, no one expected that Zhou Jinchen glanced at the reporter and actually said, “My answer is An Xumo.”

The reporter was not willing to be fooled, “But An Xumo hasn’t started filming yet, how is there tacit understanding between you…….”

Zhou Jinchen said, “We’ve been in contact daily. He has been in the group for a long time and we met at the gym.”

The reporters suddenly found a new focus.

This is the first time Zhou Jinchen has publicly expressed goodwill towards his juniors!

“May I ask, have you been working out together all the time?”

“It seems like you two have a very good relationship in private, isn’t it?”

“Mr. Zhou do you exchange fitness tips with An Xumo? Do you do any exercises together?”

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. Zhou Jinchen’s words made the media flare up directly.

Zhou Jinchen was about to speak when someone behind him suddenly reached out their hand and placed it on his shoulder, “Still not done yet? It’s so lively.”

Zhou Jinchen gestured with the person who came, “Brother Rui.”

The reporters present were also familiar with the new person and greeted him, “Mr. Lin.”

Lin Rui’s hand is still on Zhou Jinchen’s shoulder. He also has a height of one meter and eighty tall, but he did not look too lofty. He smiled towards the crowd and pointed to Zhou Jinchen, “You guys continue. I just came by to say hello.”

A reporter took the opportunity to say, “We’re asking Mr. Zhou how he feels about the second cooperation.”

Lin Rui looked at Zhou Jinchen and pointed to himself, “With me?”

Zhou Jinchen said, “It was your part just now.”

Then it’s not the question now. Lin Rui quickly reacted and laughed, “Oh, yes. I almost forgot. It’s also Jinchen and Xiao An’s second time working together.”

A reporter rushed to ask, “Then, does Mr. Zhou feel any different from working between the two men?”

If this question is still considered mild, another question that was asked before Zhou Jinchen opened his mouth can be called blatant—

“Who do you prefer to work with the second time, Teacher. Lin or An Xumo?”